Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 23, 2013

12

THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 23, 2013 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

EMPLOYMENT RESOURCES FOR OLDER JOB SEEKERS

 
By Pat Birdsall

FYI: If I hear the word “patience” uttered by anyone I will scream myself to death. Maybe that’s 
a tad too dramatic...Suffice it to say, patience is not one of my virtues. It’s a word that actually pains 
my Irish soul. (It must be the “drama” of the Academy Awards that has this effect on me)…With the 
physical limitations of a fractured hip on top of the hip replacement surgery, “patience” is a word I 
need to add to my vocabulary and use frequently. In all actuality, those of you who really me, know 
that I would rather set my hair on fire… but, that’s what life has thrown in my path and I have to 
make the best of it. There is always someone worse off as we know, but a “pity party” is okay once in 
a while isn’t it?

 I have to thank my son, Chris, and my truly wonderful friends and neighbors. Without all of them, I 
honestly don’t know what I would have done at the inception of this ordeal and its continuing stages. 
It does get better…Right? 

 I can’t go further (or is it farther)? without mentioning a local organization that has played a large 
part in my healing process. I have to give the Convalescent Aid Society on East Foothill Boulevard 
in Pasadena, my sincerest thanks and appreciation. I can’t tell you the great relief I felt when my son 
located my much needed medical equipment and that it was just a phone call away. An FYI in the 
FYI…the Convalescent Aid Society is a non-profit organization totally funded by private donations 
and endowments. They have been in continuous operation since 1923 and provide medical equipment 
for at-home at no charge and no time constraints to the residents in the San Gabriel Valley. Call them 
a call for more information: (626) 793-1696.

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HELPFUL HINT: Good weather sealing around your doors and windows not only saves 
money on heating and cooling, but also cuts down on dusting dramatically. 

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FOR YOUR FUNNY BONE 

 A man returns from Africa feeling very ill. He goes to see his doctor and is immediately rushed to 
a hospital to undergo a barrage of extensive tests. The man wakes up after the tests in a private room 
at the hospital and the phone by his bed rings. “This is your doctor. We’ve got the results back from 
your tests and we’ve found you have an extremely nasty virus which is very contagious!” “Oh, my 
gosh,” cries the man. He’s in a panic now. “What are you going to do doctor?” “Well, we’re going to 
quarantine you and put you on a diet of pizzas, pancakes and pita bread.” “Will that cure me?” asked 
the man hopefully. The doctor replied, “Well no, but…it’s the only food we can get under the door.” 

 ~ ~ ~ 

 A woman called 911 complaining of difficulty breathing. My husband, Glenn and his partner…
both EMTS… rushed to her home. Glenn placed a sensor on her finger to measure her pulse and 
oxygen. The he began to gather her information. “What’s your age?” he asked. “Fifty-eight,” answered 
the patient, eyeing the beeping device on her finger. “What does that do?” “It’s a lie detector,” said 
Glenn with a straight face. “Now, what did you say your age was?” “Sixty-seven,” answered the woman 
sheepishly.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY! … February Birthdays…

 Anne-Marie Stockdale, Gordon Caldwell, Peter Lippincott, Georgia Lippincott, Janet 
Emery, Sharon Lefler, Lorraine Bush, Mary Beth Knox, Vickie Vernon, Hilda Pittman, 
Susan Henderson, Sylvia Lorhan Ann Luke, Janet O’Day, Ana Ptasinski, Jan Reed, Allie 
Atay, Ursula El-Tawansy, Winifred Swanson, Marian DeMars. *To add your name to this 
distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required.

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Quote of the Week: Shin: A device for finding furniture in the dark. ~Author Unknown 

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ACTIVITIES: Unless listed differently, all activities are at the Hart Park 
House (Senior Center) 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre

YMCA San Gabriel Valley Intervale Senior Café: Monday-Friday at 12:00 Noon

(Participants are urged to arrive no later than 11:45 A.M.) 

All seniors 60 and up can take part in the lunch program. There is a suggested donation of $2.00 
for those 60 and over and $3.75 for non-senior guests. Daily reservations are necessary as space is 
limited. Please call 24 hours in advance...626.355.0256

 

Free Blood Pressure Testing: On the 2nd Tuesday of the month 11:00 am-12:00 pm: A nurse from 
Methodist Hospital, Arcadia volunteers to do the readings. No appointment necessary.

 

Bingo: Every Tuesday afternoon from 1:00 pm- 3:00 pm Cards are only .25c each! 

Free Chair Yoga: Every Wednesday morning from 11:00 am-11:45 am Volunteer Teryl Willis offers 
this class that focuses on senior yoga techniques. It is geared toward gentle movements, breathing 
techniques and balance improvement. No reservations are necessary.

Free Legal Consultation: Pasadena attorney Geoffrey Chin volunteers on the 2nd Wednesday of the

month. He focuses on estate planning, trusts, wills, probate, conservatorships and business law. 
*Appointments are a must! Please call: 626.355.7394 to make yours* Conflicting court schedules can 

 occasionally cause cancellations.

Free Income Tax Assistance: Wednesdays through April 10th from 1pm to 2pm Don Brunner will 
provide is available to all seniors for income tax consultation. Appointments are required, call 626-
355-7394.

Birthday Celebrations: The 2nd Thursday of the month the Senior Center celebrates the birthdays of 
our patrons at 12:30 pm. Please join us for free cake and ice cream and “celebration.” (The cakes are 
provided due to a generous donation from the Sierra Madre Civic Club.)

Game Day: Every Thursday at 1:00pm. Poker is usually the game of choice, or should I say chance? 
Board games and other card games are also available. Outside, on the patio, a beautiful, one-of-a-kind 
chess table is anxious for players.

 

Free Strength Training Class: Every Friday from 1:00 pm -1:45 pm. Conducted by long-time 
volunteer, Lisa Brandley. The class utilizes light weights for low-impact resistance training. Weights 
are provided by the Sierra Madre Senior Center. It’s a great way to stay in shape and to socialize with 
your peers. (Gossip included)

Senior Citizens Club: Every Saturday at the Hart Park House (Senior Center). Brown bag lunch at 
11:30am; Club meeting at Noon; Bingo 12:30- 3:30 pm. Only .25c per card… For more information 
call Pat at 626.355.7290.

NEW CLASS - Hawaiian & Polynesian Dance: Starting Feb 25th, this six week introductory course will 
teach hand, hip, and feet movements for one full dance. Classes will be held on Mondays from 1:00pm 
to 2:00pm for six weeks. Sarongs and leis will be provided. Class taught by Sierra Madre resident Cheryl 
Mason.

AARP DRIVER SAFETY COURSE This class focuses on learning current rules of the road,

defensive driving techniques, and how to operate your vehicle more safely in today’s increasingly 
challenging driving environment. You’ll also learn how you can manage and accommodate common 
age-related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time. Manystates including California offer 
discounts on auto insurance rates for those who complete this course..

EXCURSIONS:

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise Date: Friday, February 22, 2013

Description: View actual costumes from movies released in 2012, including 2012 
Academy Award Winner for Best Costume, The Artist.

COMING UP: Whale Watching Trip - 2 hour boat ride (Long Beach, CA) Date: Saturday, March 2, 
2013 Time: 10:00am - 3:30pm Meeting Location: Community Recreation Center Cost: $31.00 (does 
not include lunch) Register by: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 Join the Community Services Department 
on its annual whale watching excursion. The 2013 excursion will visit the same whale watching 
Charter Company as 2012, which features a 2 hour cruise narrated by Aquarium of the Pacific staff 
and a boat that features indoor and outdoor seating. Participants can bring their own lunch to enjoy 
on the boat, or purchase snack items on-board. Bus leaves from the Community Recreation Center. 

Jeopardy Taping at the Sony Lot Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Description: Attend a taping of America’s favorite quiz show. Test your knowledge while host Alex 
Trebek challenges the contestants.

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SENIOR MOVIE PROGRAM: FREE movies are shown on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays 
of the month. The films, one contemporary and one vintage, are chosen by the seniors themselves. 

All movies are shown in Sierra Madre’s City Council Chambers, 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 

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Dear Savvy Senior: What resources can you recommend 
to help older job seekers? I’m 62 and have 
been out of work for nearly a year now and need 
some help. Looking For Work

Dear Looking:

While the U.S. job market has improved slightly 
over the past year or so, challenges persist for 
many older job seekers. Fortunately, there are a 
number of free online tools and in-person training 
centers scattered across the country today 
that can help you find employment. Here’s what 
you should know.

Online Resources

If you have Internet access, there are a number of 
50-and-older online employment networks that 
can help you connect with companies that are interested 
in hiring older workers. 

Two of the best are workreimagined.org, a resource 
developed by AARP that combines career 
advice, job listings and online discussion tied 
to LinkedIn’s professional networking platform. 
And retirementjobs.com, which offers a job 
search engine that lists thousands of jobs nationwide 
from companies that are actively seeking 
workers over the age of 50. It also provides job-
seeking tips and advice, helps with resume writing 
and allows you to post your resume online for 
companies to find you. 

Some other good 50-plus job seeking sites to try 
are workforce50.com, retiredbrains.com, retireeworkforce.
com, and encore.org a resource that 
helps older workers find meaningful work in the 
second half of life.

In-Person Help

Another good place to get help finding a job is at 
a Career One-Stop center. Sponsored by the U.S. 
Department of Labor, these are free job resource 
centers that can help you explore career options, 
search for jobs, find training, write a resume, prepare 
for an interview and much more. There are 
around 3,000 of these centers located throughout 
the country. To find one near you, call 877-348-
0502 or go to careeronestop.org. 

Depending on your financial situation, another 
program that may help is the Senior Community 
Service Employment Program (SCSEP). Also 
sponsored by the Department of Labor, SCSEP 
offers access to training and part time job placements 
in a wide variety of community service 
positions such as day care centers, senior centers, 
governmental agencies, schools, hospitals, 
libraries and landscaping centers. To qualify, participants 
must be over 55, unemployed and have 
poor employment prospects. To learn more or 
locate a program in your area visit www.doleta.
gov/seniors or call 877-872-5627. 

Work at Home

If you’re interested in working at home, there are 
many opportunities depending on your skills, but 
be careful of rampant work-at-home scams that 
offer big paydays without much effort. 

Some of the more popular work-at-home jobs include 
“customer service agents” who fields calls 
from their employers’ customers and prospective 
customers – you don’t place telemarketing calls. 
Agents earn an average of $8 to $15 an hour and 
many also receive incentives and commission, 
too. To find these jobs see arise.com, alpineaccess.
com, liveops.com and workingsolutions.com.

If you have good typing skills there are “transcriptionist” 
jobs that pay around $10 per hour 
for typing verbatim accounts of board meetings, 
presentations, conference calls, etc. Companies 
that hire transcriptionists are tigerfish.com, 
ubiqus.com, ctran.com.

And if you have a college degree, online “tutoring” 
or “proofreading” jobs are always available. 
See tutor.com to find tutoring opportunities 
which pay between $10 and $15 per hour. Or, 
if you have some writing or editing experience, 
proofreading pays $12 to $20 per hour. See firstediting.
com and cactusglobal.com to look for 
proofreading jobs.

For more work at home ideas and resources, see 
retiredbrains.com and click on the “Work from 
Home” tab on the left side of the page. 

Start a Business

If you’re interested in starting a small business 
but could use some help getting started, the U.S. 
Small Business Administration offers tips, tools 
and free online courses that you can access at sba.
gov.

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.


MOBILE DAIRY

 “Mobile” and “dairy” aren’t usually thought of together, but they were on display 
at the latest assembly presented at my cousin’s daughter’s elementary school. When 
I first heard of this event I was a bit appalled; the gall of the dairy industry to 
indoctrinate young, impressionable minds with their marketing schemes!

 When “Forks Over Knives” came out in theaters I put my two cents in my little column in support 
of veganism as a means of medical prevention and treatment. (I’m not 100% vegan, but I try to be 
most of the time.) Part of the film focused 
on the dairy industry, its influential lobbying 
in Washington, and the untruth they’ve 
been selling to Americans since the 1950’s 
(and perhaps earlier). Namely, the dairy 
council claims that consuming milk is a vital 
means of building calcium, and subsequently 
healthy bones and teeth, etc. The only 
problem is that the casein in milk spikes the 
acidity of your blood, which necessitates 
your bones to secrete calcium to correct your 
body’s ph balance. Yes, milk consumption 
saps calcium from your body. It wouldn’t be 
so disturbing if it wasn’t the exact opposite 
of what the dairy industry claims it promotes 
--healthy teeth and bones. Not to mention the great amount of antibiotics and hormones cows are 
subjected to in order to increase production. I’m not an expert in these matters, but I’ve learned 
enough to know that the few dairy products I do consume should be seen as a calculated risk, rather 
than a nutritional enrichment.

 All these thoughts were seething in my mind when my cousin started to describe the mobile dairy’s 
presentation for her first grader’s class. Apparently the mobile dairy consists of a handful of dairy 
“experts” and a large trailer carrying a heifer and her calf. When I say “large,” I mean LARGE! The 
school deposits the cattle and their keepers on the field (the only place on campus where cows can be 
cows...) Kindergarten through fifth graders gets to hear the dairy presentation. The upper graders 
didn’t attend. They have either heard it before or no longer care.

 Vegan-wise, I was happy to hear that the children saw an actual cow. Though I somehow doubt 
the presenters said, “Here’s where your ‘Big Macs’ come from!” I looked at the website for the “Dairy 
Council of California,” which provides tips for “healthy eating made easier” (or dumber). Admittedly, 
I didn’t scourer the site for it’s standing on snacks, parent modeling, etc.

 While listening to the account of the dairy presentation from my cousin, I was able to glean a 
general sense of what the dairy council had taught the students in a forty-five minute presentation 
and the experience of seeing a real cow and calf. Hopefully this cow and her young will positively 
influence the younger generation. If the kiddos didn’t make the connection that “Bossie” was to 
become their Carl’s Jr. hamburger, at least they saw that a living creature contributed to the milk, 
cheese, and yogurt they consume on a daily basis. With that, I encourage you to live long, prosper, 
and get your calcium from leafy greens!