Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 23, 2012

12

THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views-News Saturday June 23, 2012 

THE JOY OF YOGA

FRESH (re)start

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

June Birthdays

Pat Fujiwara, Nellie Haynes, Mary Carney, 
Theresa Daley, Ann Disbrow, Ann Durgerian, 
Joan Ellison, Ruth Kirkby, Irene Kudirka, 
Marilyn McKernan, Anne Montgomery, Dollie 
Morant, Trini Ornelas, Martha Spriggs, Pat Starkey.


JUNE ACTIVITIES

Senior Programs have returned to the Hart 
Park House enior Center, 222 W. Sierra 
Madre Blvd. in Memorial Park - Come by and 
see the changes!!

ene
By Rene Quenell, Founder/Owner

Yoga Madre - Sierra Madre 

Meals-On-Wheels


Mondays: City Hall & Lunch Café 

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café: Come enjoy 
a hot meal with others. Donation for 
seniors (60+) of $2.00; visitors $3.75. Call 
355-0256 to make your daily reservation.

1:00 pm to 1:45 pm: Strength Training 
with Lisa Brandley. FREE class of stretching 
with light hand weights while you sit.

Tuesdays: 

 FREE blood pressure checks by Methodist 
Hospital Nurse; 11 am to 12 noon.

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm: BINGO; cards are 
only 25 cents each so stop by & play

5:15 pm to 6:45 pm: Yoga; $6.00 - 50 
& over. Please call 355-5278 for more 
information

Wednesdays:

11 –11:45 am: Balance Class with Teryl. 
FREE class designed to improve balance 
& refresh the joints

12 noon: Intervale Lunch Café; daily reservations 
needed 355-0256

2nd Wednesday of the month: FREE Legal 
Consultations: 10-11:30 am. Appointments 
call 355-7394

Wii Wednesday - 1:00 pm or call the senior 
desk at 355-7394 to arrange another 
time & day to learn how to play. No previous 
experience or skills required and it is 
great exercise.

Thursdays:

1:00 to 3:30 pm: Game Day. Join us for 
Poker with Bridge on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays; 
so please call for more information.

Fridays: Intervale Lunch Café; daily reservations 
needed 355-0256

Saturdays: 11:30 am: Senior Club brown 
bag lunch and BINGO at 12:30 pm. 

June 21st marks the start of the summer season. It is also the 
day of the Summer Solstice, a time of renewal and optimism. 
A perfectly auspicious time for fresh starts, or re-starts.
Because it happens to all of us: not too long ago you were doing great: 
you had your yoga routine, or your gym routine, or your hiking, or 
something else along those lines. You were in great shape, body and 
mind. You were so proud of yourself. And then you dropped out of it.
Maybe it happened all of a sudden, and you just stopped from one 
day to the next. Maybe you started skipping a few classes, a few sessions here and there, 
thinking I’ll catch up next week, but you never did, and it just kept getting worse, until the 
guilt was so overwhelming that you actually avoided thinking about it. Then you started 
making excuses for your lack of discipline, your lack of motivation, your lack of resolve... 
We’ve all been there. Your own scenario might be completely different but at the end of the day, it’s 
the same story: you quit, you feel guilty and you want to get back into it but don’t know how, or 
where to start. You’re waiting for a reason, a sign, something, anything to give you a little push...
Here’s your sign: it’s summertime! It’s time for fun, warmth and enjoyment! This is no time for looking 
back and agonize over how hard it would be to pick up where you left off, knowing full well your body 
is going to give you grief for it. Stop overthinking and feeling sorry or guilty about all the promises 
you made to yourself that you didn’t keep. It’s pointless and useless. Instead, grab your mat and come 
celebrate the season with us. We’ll start by a few sun salutations, and I bet you that after the second or 
the third one, you’ll be thinking “this feels so good and it is so easy” and you’ll just keep going. That’s 
how you get back into it. Your fresh re-start.

Namasté, René

Meals are delivered to home-
bound seniors by volunteer drivers 
through the YWCA Intervale 
Lunch Program M-F (with frozen meals for the 
weekend.) 

Meals are delivered to the home-bound seniors 
by drivers through the YWCA Interval Lunch 
Program M-F (with frozen meals for the 
weekend.) 

 Call the YWCA at (626) 214-9460 for more 
information. 


LUNCH & LEARN 

Join the Senior

Community Commission

at the 

HART PARK HOUSE

 for a FREE presentation. Lunch is 
available for a 

$2 donation 

Call (626) 355-0256 by 

12 noon the day before. 

2012 EXCURSIONS

DIAL - A - RIDE TICKETS

Tickets can now be purchased at:

Sierra Madre City Hall

Sierra Madre Recreation Center

Sierra Madre Library

Friday, June 8th - Nethercutt Collection 
& lunch at the Bear Pit BBQ restaurant. 
June’s adventure takes you to the San 
Fernando Valley to see the museum that 
hous-es over 200 classic cars, antique 
furniture and musical instruments. After 
the guide lead walking tour of the 
collection participants will then enjoy 
lunch (please bring additional money for 
lunch). Bus will depart at 8:45 am and 
return around 3:30 pm. Cost per person 
is $12 for transportation & driver’s tip.

Friday, July 13th - Laguna Beach Pageant 
of the Masters. This annual trip will 
be leaving Sierra Madre at 4:30 pm and 
return around 11:30 pm. Tickets are limited 
to the first 40 registered participants 
and the cost per person is $55.

Registration can be done either in person 
or online at www.cityofsierramadre.
com/onlineregistration

HOW TO FIND HELP PAYING FOR YOUR HEARING AID

Dear Savvy Senior:

Are there any resources or programs that help seniors with the high cost of hearing aids?

Can’t Afford To Hear 

Dear Can’t:

It’s unfortunate, but millions of Americans with hearing loss don’t get hearing aids because they simply 
can’t afford them. Hearing aids are expensive, typically costing between $1,000 and $3,500 per 
ear, and most insurance companies including traditional Medicare don’t cover them. While there’s 
no one simple solution to finding affordable hearing aids, there are a variety of options you can look 
into that can help. 

Check Insurance

Your first step is to check with your health insurance 
provider to see if it provides any hearing aid 
coverage. 

If you’re a Medicare beneficiary, you need to know 
that while original Medicare (Part A and B) and 
Medicare supplemental policies do not cover hearing 
aids, some Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans 
do. If you have an Advantage plan, you’ll need to check with your plan administrator. 

Medicaid also covers hearing aids in some states to people with very limited means. Your county 
social service office can give you more information.

Or, if you’re a federal employee or retiree, hearing aid coverage may be available through some insurance 
plans in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Or if you’re a veteran, the VA provides 
free hearing aids if you meet certain conditions such as being compensated for any serviced-connected 
disability or if your hearing loss is connected to military service. See va.gov or call 877-222-8387 
to check your eligibility.

Financial Assistance

Depending on your income level, there are various programs and foundations that provide financial 
assistance for hearing aids to people in need. Start by calling your state rehabilitation department 
(see www.parac.org/svrp.html for contact information), or the nearest chapter of the Hearing Loss 
Association of America (hearingloss.org) to find out if there are any city, county or state programs, or 
local civic organizations that could help. 

There are also a number of nonprofits that offer hearing aids at deeply discounted prices, or for free. 
Some good ones to check out include: 

HEAR Now: Sponsored by the Starkey Hearing Foundation (starkeyhearingfoundation.org, 800-328-
8602), this program provides hearing aids for people with net incomes below $19,058 for a single or 
$25,743 for couples. Your only costs are a hearing test and an application fee of $125 per hearing aid 
request. 

Lions Affordable Hearing Aid Project: Offered through some Lions clubs throughout the U.S., this 
program provides the opportunity to purchase new, digital hearing aids manufactured by Rexton 
for $200 per aid, plus shipping. To be eligible, most clubs will require your income to be somewhere 
below 200 percent of the federal poverty level which is $22,340 for singles, or $30,260 for couples. 
Contact your local Lions club (see lionsclubs.org for contact information) to see if they participate in 
this project. 

Sertoma: A civic service organization that runs a hearing aid recycling program through its 500 clubs 
nationwide, refurbishes them, and distributes them to local people in need. Call 800-593-5646 or visit 
sertoma.org to locate a club in your area. 

Audient: This program (audientalliance.org, 866-956-5400) helps people purchase new, digital hearing 
aids at reduced prices ranging from $495 to $975 for one hearing aid, or $990 to $1,575 for a pair. 
To be eligible, your income must be below $27,075 for a single or $36,425 for couples. 

For a list of more programs, visit the Better Hearing Institute website at betterhearing.org, and click 
on “Hearing Loss Resources,” then on “Financial Assistance.” Or, call the National Institute on Deafness 
and Other Communication Disorders at 800-241-1044 and ask them to mail you their list of 
financial resources for hearing aids. 

 Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.


BINGO Tuesday - join us every Tuesday at 
the Hart Park House Senior Center at 1:30 pm 
for this traditional social activity. Bingo cards 
are only 25 cents each.

There will be a special intermission dessert 
& prize at the April 24th game provided by 
Angie Chen of Seniors Helping Seniors - In 
home services for seniors by seniors.