Neighbors Heroes Grill displays pay tribute to those who serve BY FLORA REIGADA The old adage, “if walls could talk” can be applied to the walls at Heroes Grill restaurant in Titusville and its collection of military and firstresponder tributes. A new addition, the Harvest Market grocery store and deli also honors our nation’s heroes. The restaurant display includes numerous patches, football jerseys and plaques commemorating each branch of the military and first responders.
SENIOR LIFE Dan Reigada
Heroes Grill owner and proud father Reuben Wooten is proud of his family’s military service.
The business owners are Reuben and LaShawn Wooten, whose military ties run deep. Sweethearts at Astronaut High School, they enlisted in the Navy together and served eight years. They passed this patriotism to their sons, both of whom enlisted in the military. Their achievements are on display. The proud father pointed them out. “That U.S. Naval Academy football jersey belonged to our son Navy Lt. j.g. Tyris Wooten. He graduated in 2018, a football star in the top 10% of his class,” Reuben Wooten said. He also pointed out a framed Army jacket with rows of ribbons, belonging to the couple’s son, Sgt. 1st Class DeAndre Wooten. Nearby, Logan Brooks, a regular customer, was enjoying a hamburger while studying the patches on the wall. “They are all very unique,” she said, referring to a patch from Georgia and another from police in Iowa. A patch from a U.S. Air Force base in Spain caught her eye.
SENIOR LIFE Dan Reigada
These football jerseys and service patches help make up the patriotic array at the “It’s a perfect example of people coming here from everywhere,” she said. Wooten spoke of patches from the Vietnam era, the USS West Virginia and agencies such as SpaceX and TSA. He continued to the adjoining Harvest Market, where the Buffalo Soldiers are honored. “They were African-American soldiers hired to protect Western
territories after the Civil War,” he said. In the restaurant, a plaque honors our nation’s fallen. It reads, “The nation that forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.” Titusville’s Heroes Grill and Harvest Market is doing its part to ensure all our heroes are remembered and honored. For information, go to The Heroes Grill at 1300 South St. in Titusville or check out theheroesgrill.net/. SL
Local artist’s display at library to highlight endangered species BY BETTY PORTER Rockledge artist Rose Marie Capasso will present her series of paintings of the most endangered species of animals and mammals from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, May 20 at the Cocoa Public Library at 308 Forrest Ave. The showing is in advance of National Endangered Species Awareness Day, which is May 28. The animals and mammals that Capasso paints are listed as endangered by the World Wildlife Foundation. There are 17 critically
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endangered animals on the list. She will have at least 13 of them on canvas at the event. Capasso has painted the Red Panda and it will be on display. Native to the Eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, the Red Panda (sometimes referred to as the lesser Panda due to its size) is slightly larger than a house cat but with a big, bushy tail which is about 18 inches long. It uses its ringed tails as wraparound blankets to keep warm in the chilly mountains. It is classified by the WWF as endangered. Also featured will be the Viquita
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SENIOR LIFE Betty Porter
Rose Marie Capasso paints endangered species including the Red Panda.
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Dolphin, which is a shy member of the porpoise family and the most endangered of the world’s marine mammals. They are found in the waters between California and Mexico. Less than 20 remain in the wild. Entanglement in illegal gill nets is driving the species toward extinction. She has also painted endangered animals such as the manatee and bottlenose dolphin, which are found in Brevard County waters. The Hawksbill Turtle can be found in the tropical waters of the southeastern United States. It primarily eats jellyfish and has been known to confuse plastic in the water for food, which is one of the reasons its numbers are on the decline to
the point of making it critically endangered. Capasso paints with acrylics as her painting medium and some mixed media. She captures on canvas not only the animal or mammal, but also often includes a depiction of the reason for its endangered status. Capasso has taken some art classes, but is mainly self-taught. “I started seriously painting in 2019 and am now obsessed,” she said. “I paint nearly everyday. During the COVID restrictions, I found it was a great outlet and stress reducer. “Since I love painting and I love
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