Mountain Views News     Logo: MVNews     Saturday, September 17, 2016

MVNews this week:  Page A:9

THE GOOD LIFE

9

Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 17, 2016 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HEALTH TIPS AND ADVICE FOR SENIOR TRAVELERS


Dear Savvy Senior,

My husband and I are recently retired and would 
like to do some traveling both in the United States 
and abroad, but worry about health issues, such as 
insurance, finding a good hospital if we get sick, etc. 
What tips can you offer health conscious seniors who 
want to travel? 

Older Travelers

Dear Travelers,

A dream vacation can turn into a real nightmare if 
you get sick or injured while you’re away and aren’t 
prepared. Before setting out, here are some simple 
steps to help ensure a safe and healthy trip.

 Talk to your doctor: If you have a medical 
condition or health concerns, a good first step is to 
talk with your doctor now about what precautions 
you need to take before traveling. You should also 
have your doctor’s contact information with you 
when you travel, as well as a list of your medical 
conditions and the medications you’re taking in case 
you need emergency medical care while you’re away.

 If you’re traveling outside the U.S., you need 
to find out the health conditions of the country 
you’re visiting and what, if any, vaccinations and/
or preventative medications are recommended. 
See CDC.gov/travel or call 800-232-463 to get this 
information. 

 Check your insurance: If you have health 
insurance or a Medicare Advantage plan through 
an HMO or PPO that covers in-network doctors 
only, check your plan to find out what’s covered if 
you need medical care when traveling outside your 
geographic area. 

 Beneficiaries that have original Medicare 
are covered everywhere in the U.S. But if you’re 
traveling abroad, you need to know that original 
Medicare does not cover medical expenses beyond 
the border except in rare circumstances, although 
some Medicare Advantage plans and some Medigap 
supplemental policies do. And, many private health 
plans don’t pay health care costs outside the U.S. 
either. Be sure to check. 

 If you need coverage when traveling abroad, get a 
comprehensive travel medical insurance policy that 
covers medical care, medical evacuation and trip 
cancellation coverage. See InsureMyTrip.com and 
SquareMouth.com to shop and compare policies. 

 Locate health care: Before your trip, find out what 
health and urgent care facilities are near the areas 
you’re visiting. Your hotel can help you with this, or 
see UrgentCareLocations.com or USHospitalFinder.
com for U.S. facilities.

 If you’re traveling abroad, the U.S. consulate or 
embassy in the countries you’re visiting (go to step.
state.gov to enroll your trip) is a good place to get 
a referral. Or join the International Association for 
Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT.org), which 
provides its members access to a worldwide network 
of physicians who speak English and have agreed to 
affordable prearranged fees. Membership is free. 

 Pack your meds: Make sure you have a sufficient 
supply of medications to last the entire trip. 

 If traveling by air, you need to pack your medicine 
in your carry-on bag, so if your checked luggage gets 
lost or misdirected you won’t be without. It’s best to 
keep your medications in their original containers to 
get through airport security without delays. It’s also a 
good idea to bring along a note from your doctor that 
explains why you take these medications, especially 
if syringes or other medical supplies are involved.

 For airport security requirements visit TSA.gov 
– click on “Disabilities and Medical Conditions.” 
You can also call TSA Cares at 855-787-2227 prior 
to traveling with questions about screening policies, 
procedures and what to expect at the security 
checkpoint.

 Seek mobility aids: If mobility is an issue and you’re 
flying to your destination, call your airline before 
you leave and ask them to supply you a wheelchair 
to use while you’re in the airport. And when booking 
hotel reservations, ask for an accessible room that 
accommodates wheelchairs and walkers. 

 

 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! ….September Birthdays

Clem Bartolai, Pat Hall, Donna Anderson, Teresa Chaure, Cathy Gunther, Esther 
Macias, Sheila Pierce, Nancy Sue Shollenberger, Yvonne Osti, Patti O’Meara, Judie 
Cimino, Mary Steinberg, Geri Wright, Parvin Dabiri, Denise Reistetter and Nehama 
Warner. 

* 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 10:00 - 11:00am. Join instructor 
Barbara Dempsey as she instructs you in the art of hula. 

Bingo: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00 pm. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to join. 
May be cancelled if less than 5 people. 

Free Blood Pressure Testing: 2nd Tuesday of the month from 11:00am - 12:00 pm. No appt. necessary. 

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

Case Management: Meets the second 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 12:00 pm. (Please note the time change.) A regular group of 
seniors play poker. Other games available for use. 

 Free Strength Training Class: Every Friday from 12:45 - 1:30 pm 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. 

SENIOR EXCURSION - 

THE GETTY CENTER (WEST LOS ANGELES)

September 16, 2016

Time: 9:00am to 4:00 pm

Meeting Location: Hart Park House Senior Center

Cost: $ 10.00 (Does not include lunch)

Discover the museum’s historic collection and the Getty Center’s architecture and gardens by 
participating in a rich selection of engaging talks and tours that bring the Getty Center’s unique 
setting and the visual art to life. There are several gardens and fountains and landscaping for the public 
enjoyment. Lunch will be on your own. Choose from elegant dining in the Restaurant (reservations are 
recommended, 310-440-6810), to casual meals, coffee, and snacks at the Café, Garden Terrace Café, or 
the Coffee Carts. 

Participants should bring money for lunch and souvenirs. Level of walking: High. Please call the Hart 
Park House 626-355-7394.


HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

THE JOY OF YOGA


CHALLENGE YOURSELF 

What good 
does all your 
generosity 
and love do if 
you keep it to 
yourself? Part of 
a thriving yoga practice is having the ability to 
flow freely and dynamically in the world. Your 
practice should provide that for you. At times, 
though, there is an experience of stagnation and 
self-containment. To step out of that smaller, 
limited space, there must be challenge. As a 
general rule of thumb, you can’t grow unless you 
challenge yourself. Thus, we need some heat, or 
tapas within our practice. 

A friend who was having a hard time recently 
suggested an idea for this article. She said, “Please 
write an article on ‘How to get out of a dark place”. 
I thought for a moment on how to approach that 
topic. It’s such a common struggle. Darkness 
can apply to heaviness, sadness and the feeling 
of being stuck. When this feeling comes on and 
gets embedded, challenge is almost the last thing 
we want to do. In fact, lying on the couch, alone, 
seems like the best option. It brings up a very 
good point: when there is no desire to grow, we 
must create that for ourselves. 

Creating a practice that brings enlivenment and 
fluidity is key to breaking free of stagnation. A 
focus on deepening and extending inhalation 
along with moderate back bending is ideal. Think 
about activating the upper body, heart, chest, and 
throat with the breath. The practice should also 
support your power of digestion at the navel center. 
We do this by activating the abdomen and all the 
muscles there. The pace at which you practice is 
important. An efficient, progressive, continuous 
pace works well. Still being mindful, deliberate 
and conscious in movement and breath though. 
A practice that includes these components will 
leave you with a sense of ease and enlivenment. As 
vitality is built up, there’s an overflow of love and 
generosity that just naturally becomes available 
to the world around us. The personal benefits are 
immeasurable, but others get to receive too. It’s a 
win-win. 

Come to class, shed those extra layers and uncover 
the beautiful you! 

Namaste and Love, Keely Totten

Your InvItatIon to an EvEnt at thE KEnsIngton sIErra MadrERCFE License198601953www.theKensingtonsierraMadre.comWEdnEsdaY, octobEr 5, 2016From: 6:30pm – 8:00pm 
at the Kensington 
245 West sierra Madre blvd. 
sierra Madre, ca 91024(626) 355-5700EvEnt dEtaIls• What activities really help bone health –and what 
really does not! (You’re going to be surprised!)
• Does dairy consumption really help bone health – 
or does it not?
• How to commit to memory the ENTIRE array 
of actions representing a more successful bone-
healthy lifestyle.
• Some rather stunning statistics about osteoporosis 
that will no doubt make you take bone health 
much more seriously.
• The ironies around when cooking affects food 
“negatively” for bone health, and when they 
actually don’t do so.
• Best foods for Vitamin D, calcium. 
• Best fruit for bone health (by far) – and how it’s 
been made easy and practical to consume easily 
every day.
• When to consider the medications for bone health 
– and when NOT to.
• How to actually use colors to best measure and to 
motivate one against osteoporosis.
Please rsvP via email tossciurba@Kensingtonsl.comor by calling 626-355-5700
Bone Health Made EasyAssessments will be available on a first come first serve basis.
Dr. Kenneth C. Howayeck 
Health Success Educator, Author, and 
Retired, Board Certified Foot & Ankle SurgeonLearn to keep your bones healthy with Dr. Kenneth C. Howayeck
200 WORMS AND NOT A PAPER 

UMBRELLA IN SIGHT!

I’m sorry to be guilty again of recycling an old article. But 
this one’s SO old that I barely remember it, which means 
you definitely won’t. Enjoy!

 If you were at the Buccaneer Lounge on May 21, please 
don’t think that the middle-aged lady asking for a paper 
umbrella was crazy. She’s not nuts --she’s just my mom. 
Let me lead you down the winding trail of how my mom 
found herself in the Buccaneer on a Monday afternoon. 
It all started on Sunday, the day of the solar eclipse. I’ve 
heard that eclipses bring out the weirdness in people 
and animals. Maybe that’s why something seemed off 
kilter when I left for a jog around 
town. Passing Alverno, I couldn’t 
help noticing a little gray fluff ball 
perched on a twig in the middle of the 
sidewalk. Upon closer inspection, I 
saw two beady eyes gazing out as if to 
ask, “What ‘choo lookin’ at?”

 Some people are dog people. Some 
people are cat people. And then there 
are bird people, who are a bit weirder 
than their mammalian counterparts. 
(Apologies to all my fellow bird people, 
but you must admit it’s true...) Had 
the encounter occurred closer to my 
apartment, or if I had been carrying 
my cell phone, things would’ve been 
easier. Nevertheless, there I was with 
Finch, and what bird-loving person 
wouldn’t try to rescue him out of 
harm’s way? Seeing how comfortable 
he was on his twig, I cupped my hands 
over him and the twig and began the 
trek to my parents’ house, because they 
have cages and baby bird food.

 I felt a little funny walking with 
my hands clasped together against 
my chest, the long ends of the branch 
sticking out on either side like curb finders. My parents 
are retired, so they were able to watch Finch when I went 
to work the next day. Or rather, they didn’t have a good 
excuse not to watch him

 Work passed uneventfully, but when I called my 
parents, they explained that their day was anything but 
ordinary! Apparently Finch was suspicious of his semi-
liquid food, and refused to open his mouth. They tried 
waiting until he peeped to shove in the food. But he 
became very good at peeping through a closed beak, like a 
ventriloquist. Fearing that he’d starve, my mom decided 
to try feeding him worms. So she and my dad went to Pet 
Smart to buy some. Wouldn’t you know that they didn’t 
have any! Then my parents tried Centinella Pets. No luck 
there, either. So they drove up and down Foothill, trying 
to find the new location of “Highlander Pets,” a reliable 
worm supplier. At last they found it. Unfortunately, the 
owner was out of the containers of 25 meal worms, and 
the smallest quantity she had was 200. Desperate, my 
parents bought it. Back at the house hours later, Finch 
was even less interested in the worms, and glared at them 
disdainfully. 

 Meanwhile, my parents were hustling to finish an 
“End of School” series for their online teachers’ store 
(Readysets.com, you must check it out!) They had nearly 
everything ready except the sample photo for a pop-
up summer/math coloring card. The finished product 
involved a bear holding a paper 
umbrella. Unbeknownst to me or my 
dad, my mom took it upon herself to 
find a paper cocktail umbrella for this 
photo.

 She scoured the liquor department 
at Albertson’s, but came up empty-
handed. Rite-Aid, too, was a bust. 
(A pharmacy isn’t the place I’d look 
for cocktail ware. But I think she was 
there to get dental floss anyway.) Back 
in Sierra Madre she tried Happy’s, but 
the paper umbrella remained elusive. 
At the end of her tether, she decided 
to try the Buccaneer. She parked in 
back where there was a group of men 
smoking and lounging around. Feeling 
self-conscious, she went through the 
Mail Boxes store to enter the Buck 
through the front. 

 The Buck’s a great place, but 
my mom didn’t fit in with its usual 
crowd. And as if being a middle-aged, 
teacher-type lady wearing flip flops in 
the Buccaneer Lounge on a Monday 
afternoon wasn’t enough --she had to 
ask for a paper umbrella to top it all off. 
The bartender looked around. “Nope. Sorry, I’ve run out.” 
At this point, the guys at the bar had taken an interest in 
this novel visitor, and started making suggestions. “Did 
you try Albertson’s?” “What about Highland Liquor? Oh 
wait... they closed.” Embarrassed and umbrella-less, my 
mom thanked everyone and left as quickly as possible.

 When she told my dad about it, he went to the garage 
and returned in a moment with a paper umbrella, 
(Apparently he had one on his work bench because he 
thought it looked cute). Then when she told me about it, 
I explained that I had half a box of paper umbrellas in my 
office (you collect all sorts of unusual stuff in education). 
Needless to say, my mom now has enough paper umbrellas 
to last for a long time. Meanwhile, the bird finally started 
eating the formula. So, let us know if you need any meal 
worms!


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