Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 22, 2014

10

THE GOOD LIFE

Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 22, 2014 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

PERSONAL TECH PRODUCTS DESIGNED 
SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS


HELPFUL HINT: Get a picture of all of your prescription bottles and keep it in your phone’s 
photo album. 

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FOR YOUR FUNNY BONE - A 45 year old woman had a heart attack and was 
taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she had a near death experience. Seeing God, she 
asked, “Is my time up?” God said, “No, you have another 43 years 2 months and 8 days to live.” Upon 
recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, liposuction, breast implants 
and a tummy tuck. She even had someone come in and change her hair color and brighten her teeth! 
Since she had so much time to live, she figured she might as well make the most of it. After her last 
operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, she was 
killed by an ambulance. Arriving in front of God, she demanded, “I thought you said I had another 
43 years? Why didn’t you pull me out of the path of the ambulance?” God replied, “I didn’t recognize 
you.”

 ~ ~ ~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! … November Birthdays

Flo Mankin, Alberta Curran, Carmela Frontino, Kathy Wood, Lena Zate, Joe Pergola, Janice 
Kacer, Valerie Howard, “Mike” Ruggles, Joan Ruggles, Lois Stueck, Jean Wood, Shirley 
Yergeau, Kathi Jefferson, Pat Krok, Irene Nakagawa, Anna Ross, Mary Steinberg and Sue Quinn.

* 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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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, from 11:00 to 11:45 am with Shannon. All ability levels are 
encouraged and welcomed.

Hawaiian and Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday morning from 10:00am to 11:00am. Join 
instructor Barbara Dempsey as she instructs you in the art of hula.

Bingo: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00pm. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to join. 
May be canceled if less than 5 people. Canceled on August 5th and 12th.

Free Blood Pressure Testing: Held 2nd Tuesday of the month from 11:00am to 12:00pm. No 
appointment is necessary.

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, August 27th from 10:00am to Noon. Attorney Lem Makupson 
is available for legal consultation. He specializes in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates, and Injury. 
For an appointment call 626-355-7394.

Chair Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 11:45 am, except on the third 
Monday of the month when the balance class is held. A suggested donation of $5 at one 
of the classes is requested, but is not required.

Birthday Celebrations: Every second Thursday of the month the Hart Park House 
Senior Center celebrates birthdays of our patrons. The free birthday cake is provided by 
the Sierra Madre Civic Club.

Game Day: Every Thursday starting at 12:45pm. A regular group of seniors play poker. Other games 
available for use.

Free Strength Training Class: Every Friday from 12:45pm to 1:30pm with Lisa Brandley. The class 
utilizes light weights for low impact resistance training. All materials for the class are provided.

 

UPCOMING EXCURSIONS

December 2014 – The Mission Inn and Festival of Lights 

On Wednesday, December 3, 2014 join us for a 75-minute late afternoon guided tour of the Mission 
Inn in Riverside. The Mission Inn is a national historic landmark and the Festival of Lights is an 
annual gift to the community from the present owners, who saved the Inn from destruction in 
1992. This is your opportunity to see parts of the Inn that are inaccessible to the general public. 
Following the tour, at approximately 5:15 pm, participants will have three hours to eat dinner, shop, 
and enjoy the annual Festival of Lights – which features more than 4 million dazzling lights, the 
world’s largest manmade mistletoe, freshly fallen snow, and an elaborately decorated Christmas 
tree in the hotel lobby. Dinner will be on your own and there are many dining options along Main 
Street or at The Mission Inn Hotel which offers an array of award-winning restaurants, each with 
their own unique ambiance. Participants should bring money for dinner and souvenirs. The cost 
of this trip is $20 and does not include dinner; the bus departs from the Hart Park House Senior 
Center at 1:30 pm and will return at 9:30 pm. Last day to register is Monday, November 24. Level 
of Walking: Medium to High.

Dear Savvy Senior,

Can you recommend any tablets, smartphones or 
computers that are specifically designed for seniors? 
I would like to buy a device for my technology-
challenged grandmother so she can get online and 
keep up with her grandkids better, but it needs to be 
super simplified so she can use it.

Holiday Shopper

Dear Shopper,

 There are actually several new tech products on 
the market today that are designed specifically for 
older boomers and seniors that are unfamiliar or 
uncomfortable with technology.

 These devices come equipped with simplified 
software, big, vivid features, less clutter and better 
customer support packages, which makes them 
more appealing and much easier to use than 
mainstream devices. Here are several top senior-
friendly options to look into. 

Smartphone

 If you’re thinking about a smartphone for your 
grandmother, check out the new GreatCall Touch3. 
Made by Samsung, this Android smartphone has 
a 4-inch touchscreen with an organized large icon 
menu list on the home screen that provides users 
simple access to often-used features like the phone, 
text messages, camera, pictures, email and Internet, 
along with your contacts and apps.

 It also has a 5-megapixel camera, a full-size 
onscreen keyboard, and offers a variety of health 
and safety features like the 5Star app that lets you 
immediately speak to a certified agent 24/7 who can 
identify your location and get you the help you need. 
Urgent Care, which provides access to registered 
nurses and doctors for advice and diagnoses. And 
MedCoach, which sends medication reminders.

 Available at greatcall.com or 800-918-8543, 
the Touch3 sells for $170 with a $20 introductory 
discount, plus a one-time activation fee of $35, and 
no-contract is required. Monthly service plans that 
include unlimited 5Star and Urgent Care service 
start at $25. And their data plans start at $2.50 per 
month for 20MB. 

Tablet Computer

 If you’re considering a tablet, a top senior-friendly 
option is AARP’s new RealPad, which costs $189 at 
aarprealpad.org, walmart.com/realpad or Walmart 
stores.

 Produced in partnership with Intel, the RealPad 
is an Android tablet with a 7.85-inch touchscreen. 
It provides a clutter-free simplified home page 
with large text icons to frequently used functions 
like email, social networks, weather, news, games, 
camera and pictures, Google, the Web, apps and 
more.

 It also has a 2-megapixel front camera and 
5-megapixel rear camera, and comes with 24/7 
phone support, a bunch of tutorial videos, and 
a “Real QuickFix” tool that connects users to 
technology support agents over the Internet who 
can access the tablet and fix problems. 

Desktop Computer

 If you think your grandmother would like a 
desktop computer, the Telikin (telikin.com, 800-
717-7640), which has been around for three years 
now, is an excellent choice.

Ready to go right out of the box, this all-in-one 
touch-screen computer displays a big button menu 
on the screen at all times, providing simple access 
to most functions like the Internet, email, games, 
video chat, photo sharing, news and weather, and 
more.

Available in two sizes – the 18.6-inch “Telikin 
Touch” that costs $699, and the 22-inch “Telikin 
Elite II” for $1,079 – these computers come with 
built-in speakers, a Web camera, microphone, wired 
keyboard and mouse. They also offer a “tech buddy” 
feature so you can access your grandma’s Telikin 
computer remotely from your computer to help her 
when she needs it.

Running on Linux software instead of the standard 
Windows or Mac OS, the Telikin is also virus-
resistant, comes with a 60-day trial period, a one-
year warranty and free tech support.

It’s also worth noting that Telikin has a partnership 
with firstSTREET – a senior product direct 
marketing company – that is also selling the 22-
inch Telikin for $1,079, but have rebranded it as the 
“WOW! Computer for Seniors.”

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.


KATIE Tse..........This and That

VIM AND VIGOR --WHO COULD 

ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?

How’s fall treating you? 
Daylight is dwindling and the 
occasional cloudy sky teases 
us with the hope of rain. Rough as the drought is, 
I’m grateful to be here rather than in places like 
Buffalo, NY, where packed snow greets residents 
as they pry open their front door in the morning. 
(They call it Buffalo because that’s one of the few 
species that can survive those temperatures!) 
There’s probably a 
host of fall and winter 
activities to distract us 
from dark nights and 
cold weather, but I’ve 
yet to embrace them. 
It’s times like these 
that I start scrolling 
endlessly through 
articles and blogs 
online. And every 
so often there’ll be a 
boredom-busting gem 
in the mail, like “The 
Vermont Country 
Store” catalogue.

 The Vermont 
Country Store is 
essentially a seller of 
bygone items ranging 
from retro candies to neck, arm, and thigh-
toning wraps. Current specials include the “Milk 
House” heater, one of those boxy, top-heavy floor 
lamps in which glowing orange wires create 
warmth, and occasionally light a shag rug on fire.

 A great variety of clothing is also available. 
There’s a colorful collection of muumuus, 
slimming microfiber undergarments for both 
sexes, and blankets that can be pinned around 
your neck. The ice scraping quilted mitt was 
especially interesting. Imagine an oven mitt with 
a small rake at the end. Good for fall and winter, 
Halloween, and anytime you have a hard-to-reach 
itch!

 I could imagine myself enjoying most of the 
edible goods. Things like chocolate and butter 
cookies never go out of style. However, a couple 
items seemed to be unlikely candidates. Barley-
flavored hard candy might not go over big when 
competing against Snickers.

 Some of the kitchen gadgets seemed possibly 
helpful. A wearable kitchen timer lets you know, 
no matter where you are, that it’s time to take out 
the roast. But many accessories seem too task 
specific, such as the crank apple corer and the 
poached egg holder. 

 The best part of the catalogue is always the 
health and wellness 
section. Using 
“Spring Chicken” 
claims to make you 
feel younger than 
springtime! Massage 
it into any part of 
you that feels worn 
out. It’d probably also 
work as a marinade for 
stewing chickens and 
other tough meats. 
Don’t worry about 
sagging skin. As 
long as you can wrap 
an elastic bandage 
around it, there’s 
hope of rejuvenation! 
And I’m sure you’ve 
seen your coworkers 
and relatives wearing those metallic bracelets 
intended to improve circulation. Well, now 
there’s the acupuncture “Third Wedding Ring!” 
While it’s not particularly romantic, the ad claims 
that wearing it at night will help you stop snoring. 
I don’t know what the acupuncture aspect is, nor 
do I wish to.

 And finally, there’s the elixir of youth -- “Vim 
& Vigor!” The name itself sounds potent enough! 
An ounce a day keeps the doctor away. At least 
that’s what the bottle claims. It sounds like 
Geritol, which I’ve never tried, but people tell 
me it’s at least 12% alcohol. So, if your liver can 
survive Vim & Vigor, there’s a good chance you’ll 
outlive whatever viruses the season may throw at 
you. Just remember, what doesn’t kill you makes 
you stronger. So live long and prosper, and enjoy 
the fall season!


A Time To GiveWishing ourfamily, friends & clients 
a wonderful 
Thanksgiving!
KATIE ORTH626.507.3034katieo@podley.comCalBRE #00942500JUDY WEBB-MARTIN626.688.2273 
judywm@podley.com 
CalBRE #00541631www.podley.com | 30 N. Baldwin Avenue, Sierra Madre 91024
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com