Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 15, 2013

A11

THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views News Saturday, June 15, 2013 

WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE JOINING A 

CLINICAL TRIAL

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

 
By Pat Birdsall

FYI - A SIMPLE FACT: 

In 1950 California’s population was 10,586,223; in 2013 the population is 36,961,66! The following 
are just a few of the hundreds of ways to conserve water…all painless. 

1) We are more likely to notice leaks indoors, but don’t forget to check outdoor faucets, sprinklers 
and hoses for leaks 2) Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons of 
water 3) Use a water-efficient showerhead. They’re inexpensive, easy to install and can save you up to 
750 gallons a month 4) Turn off the water when you shave and save up to 300 gallons a month 5) If 
you accidentally drop ice cubes while filling your glass from the freezer, don’t throw them in the sink. 
Drop them in a house plant instead 6) Learn how to shut off your automatic watering system in case 
it malfunctions or you get unsuspected rain 7) Support projects that use reclaimed wastewater for 
irrigation and industrial uses 8) use the garbage disposal sparingly. Compost vegetable waste instead 
and save gallons of water each time 9) Monitor your water bill- your meter and your bill are tools that 
can help you discover leaks 10) Use a broom to clean your driveway, not the water hose.

HELPFUL HINT: To keep eyewear organized and handy, fold the legs around the 
bottom bar on a wooden hanger. (Joan Crawford would have approved).

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FOR YOUR FUNNY BONE 

Our minister announced that admission to a church social event would cost $6 per person. 
“However,” he said, “If you’re over 65, the price will be $5.50.” From the back of the congregation, a 
woman shouted, “Do you really think I’d give you that information for only 50 cents?”

 ~ ~ ~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! … June Birthdays

Nellie Haynes, Dorothy McKay, George Enyedi, Theresa Daley, Ann Dugerian, Marilyn 
McKernan, Pat Fujiwara, John Shier, Beth Smith-Kellock, Mary Carney, Ann Disbrow, 
Joan Ellison, Ruth Kirby, Irene Kudirka, Anne Montgomery, Trini Ornelas, Martha 
Spriggs, Pat Starkey, Kathleen Coyne, Suzanne Decker, Halcyon Koerber, Jacque Persing and Jeanne 
Peterson and Grace Sanders.

* 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: 

 “Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes.” 

 ~Gloria Naylor

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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 Balance Class: Every 3rd Monday for 11:00 am to 11:45 am with Shannon Vandevelde. A 
variety of balance exercises are practiced; all ability levels are encouraged and welcomed. 

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 110:30 am to 11:15 am. Join Paul Hagen for this 
free class that focuses on senior yoga techniques. No reservation is 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.

Lunch and Learn: Wednesday, June 26th, 12:15 to 1:00 pm

Come listen to the great services offered by Humana, a widely known company throughout 
our community and the country. Their motto entails: “Healthy People, Healthy Planet, Healthy 
Performance.” They promote seniors and their well-being.

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. 

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 Birdsall at 626.355.7290.

UPCOMING EXCURSIONS:

Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles)

Date: Friday, June 28, 2013

 Time: 10:00am -2:30 pm

 Meeting Location: Hart Park House Senior Center

 Cost: $25.00 (does not include lunch)

Founded in 1979, MOCA is the only museum in Los Angeles devoted to exclusively to contemporary 
art and is committed to the collection, presentation and interpretation of work produced since 1940 
in all media. The educator-led guided tour highlights the various exhibits in a fun and exciting way 
as well as provides the most information about MOCAA’s collection and current exhibitions. It is 
recommended to bring $10-$15 for lunch.

Save the Dates!

Friday, July 12, 2013- Pageant of the Masters (evening excursion)

Friday, August 16, 2013- USS Iowa (San Pedro)

Registration can be done in person at the Hart Park House Senior Center & Community Recreation 
Center or online at www.cityofsierramadre.com Cash, checks and credit cards are accepted. Make 
checks payable to “City of Sierra Madre.” Payment must be made at the time of registration.

 

Senior Movie Program: FREE movies are chosen by the seniors themselves and shown on the 
1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month in Sierra Madre’s City Council Chambers, 232 W. Sierra Madre 
Blvd., Sierra Madre. ~ Start time is 1:00pm ~

June 19th: Age of Champions (2011)

Sponsored by Humana: This is the award-winning documentary follows five competitors who sprint, 
leap and swim for gold at the National Senior Olympics. You’ll meet a 100 year-old tennis champion, 
86 year-old pole vaulter and rough-and-tumble basketball grandmothers as they discover the power 
of the human spirit and triumph over the limitations of age. Not Rated Start time: 1:00 pm (run time 
is 75 minutes)


Dear Savvy Senior:

What can you tell me about clinical trials and how 
to go about finding one? My wife has a chronic 
condition and we’re interested in trying anything 
that may be able to help her. Looking For Help

Dear Looking:

Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans 
participate in clinical trials in hopes of gaining 
access to the latest, and possibly greatest, but not 
yet on the market treatments for all types of illnesses. 
But, you need to be aware that clinical trials 
can vary greatly in what they’re designed to 
do, so be careful to choose one that can actually 
benefit your wife. Here’s what you should know 
along with some tips for locating one. 

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is the scientific term for a test or 
research study of a drug, device or medical procedure 
using people. These trials – sponsored by 
drug companies, doctors, hospitals and the federal 
government – are conducted to learn whether 
a new treatment is safe and if it works. But, 
keep in mind that these new treatments are also 
unproven, so there may be risks too. 

Also be aware that all clinical trials have certain 
eligibility criteria (age, gender, health status, etc.) 
that your wife must meet in order to be accepted. 
And before taking part in a trial, she’ll be asked 
to sign an informed consent agreement. She can 
also leave a study at any time. 

Things to Know

Before deciding to participate in a trial, you and 
your wife need to first discuss it with her doctor. 
Then, schedule an appointment with the study’s 
medical team and ask lots of questions. Here are 
some to get you started. 

• What’s the purpose of the study and can 
it improve your wife’s condition? You may be 
surprised to know that many drug or procedural 
trials are not designed to find a cure or improve 
a patient’s health, but only to provide scientific 
data. 

• What are the risks? Some treatments can 
have side effects that are unpleasant, serious and 
even life threatening. 

• What kinds of tests and treatments does 
the study involve, and how often and where they 
are performed?

• Is the experimental treatment in the 
study being compared with a standard treatment 
or a placebo? Keep in mind that if your wife gets 
the placebo, she’ll be getting no treatment at all. 

• Who’s paying for the study? Will you 
have any costs, and if so, will your insurance plan 
or Medicare cover the rest? Sponsors of trials 
generally pay most of the costs, but not always. 

• What if something goes wrong during or 
after the trial and your wife needs extra medical 
care? Who pays? 

• If the treatment works, can your wife 
keep using it after the study? 

Find a Trial

Every year, there are more than 100,000 clinical 
trials conducted in the U.S. You can find them at 
condition-focused organizations like the American 
Cancer Society or the Alzheimer’s Association, 
or by asking her doctor who may be monitoring 
trials in his or her specialty. 

Or, use the National Institutes of Heath’s website 
at clinicaltrials.gov. This site contains a comprehensive 
database of federally and privately supported 
clinical studies in the U.S. and abroad on 
a wide range of diseases and conditions, including 
information about each trial’s purpose, who 
may participate, locations, and phone numbers 
for more details. 

If, however, you don’t have Internet access or 
could use some help finding the right trial, use 
the Center for Information and Study on Clinical 
Research Participation (ciscrp.org). This is a 
nonprofit organization that will take your wife’s 
information over the phone and do a thorough 
clinical trials search for you, and mail or email 
you the results in a few days. Call 877-633-4376 
for assistance. 

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.


I’M A MILLENNIAL!

 Reading a recent article 
in the L.A. Times, I was 
somewhat pleased to see 
that “my generation” are 
Millennials, not Generation Xer’s! Not everyone 
agrees to the same spans of years for the Gen. 
X and the Millennials. But there seems to be a 
consensus that people in Generation X were born 
between the early 1960’s and the early 1980’s. The 
Millennials were born between the late 1980’s 
and the early 2000’s. At 1983, I like to think that I 
escaped Generation X.

 Growing up, people talked about kids and 
young adults in Generation X. According to 
them, Generation X kids were raised on MTV, 
lazy, and spoiled (their stereotypes, not mine). 
While I’m not entirely innocent of the latter two 
attributes, at least I wasn’t brought up hooked to 
music videos or early reality shows. My family 
didn’t even have a TV! Generation X has also 
sounded kind of cheap to me; like “Brand X” 
clothing. However, the Millennials are also called 
Generation Y. Therefore, people of my age group 
could be called the Yner’s, or “whiners.” I can’t 
say that monicor is entirely without basis. I’m not 
the only one to resent generational nicknames. 
My dad never warmed to “Baby Boomer.” “It 
sounds like diapers,” he says.

 Although the Millennials weren’t particularly 
heralded as an outstanding group by The L.A. 
Times, there was a hint that “my” generation has 
a greater sense of realism than Generation Xer’s. 
The majority of people in my generation are 
still grappling with college debt and often move 
back in with their parents. They have little hope 
of home ownership, particularly in the coveted 
suburbs of Southern California. What can I say? 
I may never be able to purchase a home, but at 
least my childhood wasn’t spent watching “The 
Real World.” 

 Some group Millennials together with 
Generation Xer’s in a more broad “Generation 
Me.” It seems that American culture now caters to 
self absorption and narcissism for all on an grand 
scale. I had 
to read The 
Narcissism 
Epidemic: 
Living in 
the Age of 
Entitlement 
by Jean M. 
Twenge and 
W. Keith 
Campbell for 
one of my 
continuing 
education 
courses. That 
was one of the books I’ve been assigned that I 
found myself quoting often. It is SO TRUE!

 The other day I saw a TV commercial about 
some private college (Yes, I know what a TV 
is, despite growing up without one). There 
was a lot of talk about excellence, prestige, and 
discipline, etc. It wrapped up by assuring its 
young, college-bound audience, that, by the time 
they’ve achieved enlightenment (by means of this 
college education) they’ll come to the realization 
that “It’s all about YOU!” I almost gagged. Any 
program that indoctrinates its participants into 
believing that they are the center of the universe 
should be shunned!

 I attended an 8th grade promotion recently. 
Among other pearls of wisdom, the principal 
told her graduating students that “life is all 
about enjoyment.” What? If you believe that, 
I can guarantee you a life of disappointment! 
The principal may have meant to say “Enjoy 
your life,” which, when you think about it, is 
a totally opposite message. At the end of the 
day, individuals won’t be judged based on the 
generation they were born into. Therefore, I 
will try to whine less, care about others more, 
and strive to swim against the tide of American 
narcissism. With that, congratulations to all the 
recent grads! Live long, prosper, and prove the 
stereotypes of your generations wrong!


We’d like to hear from you! 

What’s on YOUR Mind?

Contact us at: editor@mtnviewsnews.com or www.facebook.com/
mountainviewsnews AND Twitter: @mtnviewsnews


SIERRA MADRE FARMERS MARKET 

 The Sierra Madre Farmer’s Market hours have changed to 3:00pm through 8:00pm 
every Wednesday in fall and winter. Vendors include Dry Dock which has fresh 
and wild caught fish, Rustic Loaf with artisan breads, Cutie Pie with fresh pies and 
much more!

 For those interested in being a vendor contact Melissa Farwell with Raw Inspirations 
at 818-591-8161 ext. 806.