You've probably seen him driving around Houston in his motorized cart. What first caught my eye was the way he hangs an advertisement sign on the front of his cart that announces when the Senior Centre is holding their lunches or other special events.

It's such a practical idea that it makes you smile at the ingenuity of it all - a mobile sandwich board.

I've seen him around for years, but it wasn't until this week, as I watched him voluntarily picking up litter from a parking lot, that I decided it was time I found out who he was and a little more about him.

His name is John VanBarneveld, but ever since the bank mixed up his account with his son John's, he has taken to referring to himself as "Old John." But you can tell by the grin he doesn't really think of himself as that old, even if he is over 80.

Of course he's not as spry as he always was - the doctor told him last summer that he wouldn't see another year pass due to cancer and a heart condition. But there's a lot of life left behind those milky blue eyes.