One day at his friend Amanda’s house, Kenny met Alexa—and it changed the Navy veteran’s life.

Amanda had an Echo Show in her home, and when she asked Alexa a question and received a response, Kenny was astonished.

“I was flabbergasted, I didn’t know what to think!” he said. “I’m 80 years old and I ain’t got no experience in using technology.”

Patriotic Kenny sits on a scooter in the living room next to a friend.

At the time, Amanda was already sharing Kenny’s infectious personality with the world via his TikTok account, @patriotickenny. So she decided to capture Kenny’s first interactions with Alexa and the joy of his discoveries as he asked Alexa questions. To Amanda’s surprise, Kenny became an overnight viral sensation.

“People love seeing an 80-year-old man named Kenny use Alexa. He’s got millions and millions of views,” she said.

We recently met Kenny and Amanda, and introduced Kenny to some of the other exciting ways Alexa can be of help—including surprising him with new smart lights around his home. Kenny’s reaction was priceless: “When Alexa did that for me, I almost fell over and hit the floor,” he said.

Patriotic Kenny and friend Amanda smile while saluting.
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If you have a story of your own about how you use Alexa, we'd love to hear it, and we will continue sharing some of our favorite #AlexaStories. You can email us or tag us on Twitter or Instagram @alexa99 or #AlexaStories. Additionally, to learn more about how Alexa is helping people in different ways, you can watch Alexa Stories videos.