This is clearly a man happy in his own arms. In his view, life has not shortchanged him. "I've never really thought anything was different about me," he says. "I'm sure it helped that I was born this way, that I thought this was normal. My parents (Paul and Sherry) always had the attitude of 'Do whatever.' I have a sister eight years older who also has TAR (her name is Kristy, she's married and lives in Georgia). She's amazing. She does everything. We just learned how to fall better."

This isn't to say Morris hasn't seen more than his share of the inside of hospital rooms and had more than his share of blood transfusions. But it's also to say that he's an Eagle Scout, a high school and college graduate (Timpview High School and Brigham Young University), an avid recreationalist, an expert trumpet player and a full-on lover of life.

"I like to think that where there's a will, there's a way," he says. "I used to say you could be anything you wanted to be, but I don't say that any more because there are always going to be limitations. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut."

He lets that statement hang in the air before adding, "You've got to be willing to adapt. And definitely do not feel sorry for yourself. Challenges are opportunities, not obstacles."

Morris says all of this without a touch of self-pity and, to be honest, only because a journalist is firing questions at him at point-blank range.

He'd rather talk about BYU sports or about the big event coming up in his life in two weeks — his marriage to Katrina Kenison.

"She's amazing," he says. "I can't believe how lucky I am."

As our interview ends, he adds, without being asked and as a kind of postscript, "You know, I don't get teased. I can only remember once when I got made fun of, and that was in junior high. I never feel like anyone's staring."

Staring, I find myself wondering after an hour with this guy, at what?

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Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.