Bridge program 'scores' at Stone Mountain senior living community

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. - Flip through Ted Cooley’s photo albums, and you’ll see the well-documented life of a world-traveler.

"If a country has a seaport, I've probably been there," says the Stone Mountain resident.

For more than a decade, Cooley and his late wife spent weeks at a time on luxury cruise ships as bridge instructors.

"If there are a lot of sea days, they'll have a couple come on to teach bridge in the morning on sea days, and run a game in the afternoon," he explains.

Today, he essentially does the same thing — well, minus the waves — at Stone Mountain senior living community Park Springs, which boasts an active bridge program.

According to the American Contract Bridge League — which is North America’s largest bridge organization — modern contract bridge has been played for 100 years. The card game consists of two teams of two players each, and requires strong trust and communication between partners.

"It's kind of like a language," says Cooley, who is an ACBL-certified Silver Life Master, certified director, and accredited bridge teacher. "And you're communicating with your partner – initially in the bidding – to determine how strong the combined two hands are."

Administrators at Park Springs say the game’s necessary focus, memory skills, and social interaction make it a perfect fit for their community.

"It's important for Park Springs to have activities like this going on all the time, because people really have to maintain connection," says Tim Knight, the community’s executive director of training and organizational development. "And the more connected they are to their community, the better state of well-being they continue to live in."

And for card-carrying globe-trotter Ted Cooley, bridge is a club to which he’ll never say "bon voyage."

"You never master the game," he says. "And there's always someone better than you are!"