Driftwood art changes man

BY JEFF NAVIN

Thomas Gross wasn’t happy. In fact, he was miserable. Commercial painting and wallpapering left him unfulfilled. “I was depressed — I was never around people,’’ said Gross, who owns Second Chance Creations Driftwood Art. “I might go a year working on milliondollar homes where I would never see anybody. I was absolutely miserable with life. I had been house painting with my dad since I was 10. I was good at what I did, but I was trapped.’’ Three years ago, everything changed.

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“Our cart drivers like Robin are the first connection to Health First visitors will see,” said Joelle Boccabella, the manager of volunteer services for the three Health First Community Hospitals in Cape Canaveral, Palm Bay and Viera. “It is important that our visitors have a positive impression of Health First right from their arrival.”

While Boccabella pointed out that volunteer staffing at her three hospitals is at adequate levels, she did say the number of volunteers are down slightly since the start of the pandemic. Any new, interested volunteers would be very welcome.

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It’s hard to believe that just days after you receive this edition of Senior Life, school will be back in session and we will need to be extra cautious when driving.

But, it also means that while August is one of the hottest months of the year, it also means that the relentless heat will begin subsiding. It will still be hot; this is Florida, after all. So, an important thing is to stay hydrated. Even when it’s not too hot, I try to remind myself to drink water even before heading outdoors and maintaining a periodic intake of liquids. We tell you in a story in this edition about how to keep from getting dehydrated when working or playing outdoors.

Outdoorsmen like Doug Miller, 87, of Indian Harbour Beach, would probably tell you about staying as cool as possible and hydrated. He spends most of his days fishing. He has landed some record-size fish from the beaches on the Space Coast. He has the photos and taxidermy to show for it.

We are about to conclude our series Games People Play, with the game of rugby, which is not widely played in Brevard County, at least not by many boomers and seniors. It is a rough game, but there are opportunities to get involved on the Space Coast, even for seniors.

For our indoor game, we have a story on rummikub, another unusual game, at least at local senior centers. But it might be something some might want to try.

I have been fascinated by battery-powered tools since they first started becoming commonplace. Now, battery-powered lawn mowers are becoming more common, at least in the home-improvement stores. Just plug in your battery to charge it up and you’re ready to mow without the need for gasoline or pulling an electric cord behind you.

There is so much more in this edition of Senior Life. We have many other stories, we hope will inform, entertain and inspire you. SL

R. Norman Moody