Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 4, 2016

THE GOOD LIFE

9

Mountain Views-News Saturday, June 4, 2016 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

SIMPLE SMARTPHONES FOR SENIORS

Dear Savvy Senior,

Can you recommend some smartphones that are 
specifically designed for seniors? My 75-year-old 
mother is interested in upgrading from a basic 
cellphone to a smartphone, but will need one 
that’s very easy to operate. 

Inquiring Daughter

Dear Inquiring,

I wrote about this topic just last year, but in the fast 
changing world of personal technology devices, 
there’s a new crop of simplified smartphones that 
have recently hit the market that are better than 
ever for tech-shy seniors. Here are my three top 
options. 

 Doro 824 SmartEasy: Offered by Consumer 
Cellular, the new Doro 824 SmartEasy is one of 
the best, simplified smartphones available today. 
It starts with a bright, 5-inch high-resolution 
touch screen display that offers large icons 
and text, and customizable volume settings. 
Its simplified design pairs down the options, 
providing uncluttered, easy access to key contacts 
and frequently used features – such as the phone, 
text messages, the camera email and the Internet 
– right from the home screen. And, it provides 
help as you go along from the built-in coach.

 It also offers a unique pre-installed My Doro 
Manager app that can also be downloaded by 
family or friends. This app provides a number 
of tutorials showing your mom how to enjoy her 
phone, and gives her trusted contacts the remote 
ability to help manage and adjust her Doro 
smartphone from their smartphone no matter 
where they are. 

 And for added convenience and safety, the 
Doro 824 provides three physical buttons on the 
front of the phone for quick, one-touch access 
to the home screen, recently used applications, 
and a back button that returns to the previous 
screen. And an “Emergency Alert” button on the 
back of the phone that will automatically dial 
one, predetermined contact in the event of an 
emergency.

 The Doro 824 is sold online at 
ConsumerCellular.com, over the phone at 888-
532-5366, or at any Target or Sears store for $200 
with no contract. 

 Jitterbug Smart: Offered by GreatCall wireless, 
the new 4th generation Jitterbug Smart is much 
bigger than previous GreatCall smartphones. 
This phone is actually an Alcatel smartphone 
that’s been rebranded and loaded with GreatCall’s 
simplified user interface software. 

 It has a big, bright 5.5-inch high-definition 
touch screen, and a simple single-list menu on 
the home page that provides easy access to only 
frequently used features, along with one-touch 
access to contacts and other apps.

 It also provides convenient voice typing for 
emails and texts, and offers a variety of optional 
health and safety features, like MedCoach, 
that sends medication and prescription refill 
reminders. Urgent Care, which provides 
unlimited access to registered nurses and 
doctors to answer health questions. And a 5Star 
medical-alert service that lets you speak to a live 
emergency-alert agent around the clock. These 
trained agents will confirm your mom’s location 
via GPS tracking technology and dispatch help as 
needed.

 Available online at GreatCall.com, or at Best 
Buy, Rite Aid, Sears and Walmart stores for 
$150 with a onetime $35 activation fee and no 
contract. 

 Samsung Galaxy Note5: While this smartphone 
isn’t designed specifically for seniors, its large size 
(5.7-inch screen) and unique “Easy” mode setting 
that boosts the icon and font sizes and simplifies 
the home-screen layout, makes it a good option. 

 With the Easy mode turned on, the Note5’s 
home screen will display only the time, date and 
local weather, and six frequently used functions. 
To access your 12 most important contacts, you 
would simply swipe the home screen to the right. 
And to access your 12 favorites apps, swipe to the 
left.

 The Note5 (see Samsung.com/galaxynote5) is 
available with 32 and 64 GB of storage from the 
major carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, 
T-Mobile) 
and some smaller carriers at prices ranging 
between $615 and $840 without a contract. 

 

 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.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ….June Birthdays

Joanne Thrane, Nellie Haynes, Dorothy McKay, George Enyedi, Theresa Daley, 
Donna Doss, Mary Carney, Carol Handley, Marilyn McKernan, Pat Fujiwara, John 
Shier, Beth Smith-Kellock, Ann Disbrow, Joan Ellison, Anne Montgomery, Trini 
Ornelas, Martha Spriggs, Pat Starkey, Kathleen Coyne, Suzanne Decker, Jacque 
Persing, 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 but you must be over 60.

...................................................................

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

 

 

 YWCA San Gabriel Valley - Intervale Senior Cafe 

Seniors 60 years of age and up can participate in the YWCA Intervale daily lunch program held 
at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Meals are served Monday through Friday at 12:00 pm 
and participants are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 am. Meals are a suggested donation of $3.00 
for seniors 60 and over or $5.00 for non-senior guests. Daily reservations are necessary, space is 
limited. Please reserve your lunch by calling 626-355-0256.

Tech Talk: Will resume in the fall.

 

Hawaiian and Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday morning from 10am to 11am. 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. 

 

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

 

Brain Games: Thursday, June 16, 10:30am - 11:30am, improve your memory and strengthen your 
brain. Activities facilitated by Hugo, Community Liaison for New Wave Home care of Pasadena. 

 

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, June 15th from 10:30am to Noon. Attorney Lem 
Makupson is available for legal consultation. He specializes in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates, 
and Injury. Appointment are required by calling 626-355-7394. 

Balance Class: No Balance Class due to Martin Luther King Holiday. 

 

Chair Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 11:45 am. A suggested donation of $5 at one 
of the classes is requested, but is not required. 

 

Case Management: Meets the 2nd Thursday of the month. Case Management services are 
provided by the YWCA and provide assistance in a variety of areas. Appointments are required 
and can be scheduled by calling the HPH Office at 626-355-7394. 

 

Birthday Celebrations: Every second Thursday of the month at the Hart Park House. The free 
birthday cake is provided by the Sierra Madre Civic Club. 

 

Game Day: Every Thursday starting at 12:00pm. (Please note the time change.) 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. 

 

Senior Club: Every Saturday at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Brown bag lunch at 11:30am. 
Club meeting at noon. Bingo 12:30-3:30pm. Annual Membership is only $10.00. 


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

THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY

Well, I’m on summer break and if you read 
my column last week you know I finished my 
herculean task of de-junking my office at work. 
So now I really have no excuse for not writing 
a new story this week. But who can think 
of anything other than the election with the 
California primaries just a skip and a hop away?

 I heard the most refreshing commentary on 
the election the other day --oddly enough on 
“Temple Talk,” a radio program from Israel 
National News. “Trump, Clinton, and the G-d 
of Israel: In whom is our faith?” The show 
touched upon the anxiety felt by much of Israel 
concerning the upcoming American election. 
Since the United States is a world superpower 
(although I find that debatable lately), Israel 
feels that it is at the mercy of the U.S. Therefore, 
any time of political transition can be very 
unsettling for them. “What is her track record 
on Israel?” “How should we interpret his latest 
ranting?” In the end, “Who is better for Israel?”

 The host did a great job of bringing it all into 
perspective. Why should Israel get all bent out 
of shape over who sits in the oval office come 
January? Hasn’t it been God all along who 
has protected them and preserved them as His 
people since the beginning? The host went on 
to discuss Netanyahu’s attempt to “dance at two 
weddings,” in that he opposes UNESCO’s bid 
to re-label the Temple Mount as the Al Aqsa 
Mosque compound. Yet at the same time he 
has done little to improve Jews’ access to the 
Temple Mount, instead reinforcing the “status 
quo” which severely limits Jews and other non-
Muslims from accessing Judaism’s most holy site. 
Imagine what would happen, mused the host, if 
Netanyahu told the international community, 
“We can’t give away the land, because it’s not 
ours to give. It’s God’s land.” Certainly that’s 
not the politically correct thing to say, but in the 
end, should we be concerned with what others 
think of us, or what God thinks of us?

 Our president has emphasized the importance 
of being on the right side of history. Usually this 
means siding with ideologies popular among 
the intelligencia and ruling elite. But I would be 
more concerned with being on the right side of 
prophecy! God has been very straightforward 
about His dealings with those who oppose Israel. 
“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse 
those who curse you” (Genesis 12:3). No higher 
level interpretation is needed here --the Bible 
speaks for itself. The Bible also prophesizes 
a battle yet to come in which Russia and Iran 
invade Israel from the north (Ezekiel 38 & 39). 
God intervenes and saves Israel, but the fate of 
the invading armies isn’t pretty. Although we 
can’t say for sure whether the current situation 
with Russia and Iran in Syria is leading up to 
this, I would want to error on the side of caution 
and not stick my finger in God’s eye by doing 
anything that harms Israel. 

 Coming back to the election, of course we 
should care who gets elected. And we most 
certainly should vote! But in the end, the world 
is a scary, ugly place that is getting worse every 
minute. Our job is to be salt and light in it while 
we are still here, but the good news is that this 
world is not our home! Whether God calls us 
home through death or we get raptured, God has 
something much, much better for us. Someone 
once said, “I don’t know what the future holds, 
but I know who holds the future!” You, too, can 
be assured of a wonderful future with Jesus. It 
is the only way to be on the right side of both 
history and prophecy!

*If you choose to accept Jesus as your savior you 
can pray this prayer and He will come into your 
heart and give you peace with God --today and 
forever!

 “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, 
and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You 
died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn 
from my sins and invite You to come into my 
heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as 
my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” 


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