Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, July 27, 2019

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Mountain View News Saturday, July 27, 2019 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …July Birthdays*

Nina Bartolai, Mary Lou Caldwell, Louise Neiby, Betty Hansen, Christine Durfort, 
Shahrzad Azrani, Jeanne Borgedahl, Janet Cox, Dorothy Montgomery, Bess 
Pancoska, Janet Swanson, Linda Thunes, Barbara Watson, Pat Alcorn, Karma Bell, 
Alice Clark, Dorothy Jerneycic, and Betty Dos Remedios

 * To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. 
YEAR of birth not required

HART PARK HOUSE MONTHLY PROGRAMS: 

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

Hawaiian & Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday Morning from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. 
Join the class with Instructor Barbara Dempsey as she leads you in the art of Hula!

Bingo Time: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00 p.m. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to play! Activity may 
be canceled if there are less than five people.

Free Blood Pressure Testing: 2nd Tuesdays Monthly from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary.

Brain Games: Every third Thursday of the month at 12:45-1:45pm Join us for Scattergories, a creative thinking game by 
naming objects within a set of categories; or Jenga, a block-building challenge that keeps you stacking and bal-ancing your 
tower. Everyone is welcome, and no experience is needed. A great way to strengthen your mind and make new friends... 
Games are facilitated by Senior Volunteers. Will Resume in September 2019

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, July 25th from 10:30 a.m. - Noon. Attorney Lem Makupson is available for legal 
consultation. Specializing in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates and Injury. Please call the Hart Park House for an 
appointment, 626-355-5278 ext. 704.

Senior Club: Meets Saturdays, Weekly at Hart Park House Brown Bag Lunch, great company and bingo at 11:30 a.m.

Chair Yoga: Mondays & Wednesdays 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. with Paul Hagen. Classes include Yoga and balance exercises. All 
ability levels are encouraged and welcomed!

Birthday Celebration: Every 2nd Thursday Monthly at the Hart Park House. Share free birthday cake and ice cream 
kindly provided by the Senior Community Commission!

Game Day: Every Thursday Monthly 12:00 Noon come into the Hart Park House and join a lively poker game with 
friends!

Free Strength Training Class: Fridays 12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. with Lisa Brandley.light weights, low impact resistance 
training and body conditioning. Class equipment provided.

Gentle Yoga for Active Seniors: Every Monday & Wednesday from 8:15 - 9:45 a.m. with Andrea Walsh at the Hart Park 
House. Classes include complete floor relaxation, standing and floor postures, balancing, and featuring extended 
meditations on the fourth Wednesdays of the month! Call (626)-355-5278 for more information.

JULY EXCURSION

AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC (Long Beach) July 17, 2019

Level of Walking: HIGH

Lunch will be on your own and spending money optional. 

 Registration Now Open through Thursday, July 11, 2019

 *Maximum - 35 participants


SENIOR CINEMA - 2nd & 4th Wednesday 1:00 pm

 July 24th “A Dog’s Way Home” PG; 

 1 hr. 50 36 min.

As a puppy, Bella finds her way into the arms of Lucas, a young man who 
gives her a good home. When Bella becomes separated from Lucas, she 
soon finds herself on an epic 400-mile journey to reunite with her beloved 
owner. Along the way, the lost but spirited dog touches the lives of an 
orphaned mountain lion, a down-on-his-luck veteran and some friendly 
strangers who happen to cross her path.


HOW TO HELP AN AGING 
PARENT WITH A HOARDING 
PROBLEM 

Dear Savvy Senior:

My 70-year-old mother has become somewhat of a 
hoarder. Since my father died a few years ago, her 
house is so disorganized and messy with stuff that it’s becoming a hazard. What should I do to help 
her?

Troubled Son

Dear Troubled:

Clutter addiction is a problem that effects up to five percent of Americans, many of whom are 
seniors. The problems can range anywhere from moderate messiness to hoarding so severe it may 
be related to a mental health disorder like obsessive-compulsive disorder. Here’s what you should 
know, along with some tips and resources that can help your mom.

Why People Hoard

The reasons most people hoard is because they have an extreme sentimental attachment to their 
possessions, or they believe they might need their items at a later date. Hoarding can also be a sign 
that an older person is depressed or showing early symptoms of dementia.

Common problems for seniors who live in excessive clutter are tripping, falling and breaking a 
bone; overlooking bills and missing medications that are hidden in the clutter; and suffering from 
the environmental effects of mold, mildew and dust, and even living among insects and rodents.

What to Do

To get a handle on your mom’s problem, the Institute for Challenging Disorganization offers a free 
“Clutter Hoarding Scale” that you can download off their website at ChallengingDisorganization.
org. 

If you find that your mom has a moderate cluttering problem, there are a number of things you can 
do to help. 

Start by having a talk with her, respectfully expressing your concern for her health and safety, and 
offering your assistance to help her declutter. 

If she takes you up on it, most professional organizers recommend decluttering in small steps. Take 
one room at a time or even a portion of a room at a time. This will help prevent your mom from 
getting overwhelmed. 

Before you start, designate three piles or boxes for your mom’s stuff – one pile is for items she wants 
to keep-and-put-away, another is the donate pile and the last is the throwaway pile.

You and your mom will need to determine which pile her things belong in as you work. If your 
mom struggles with sentimental items that she doesn’t use, like her husband’s old tools or mother’s 
china for example, suggest she keep only one item for memory sake and donate the rest to family 
members who will use them.

You will also need to help her set up a system for organizing the kept items and new possessions. 

Find Help

If you need some help with the decluttering and organizing, consider hiring a professional organizer 
who can come to your mom’s home to help you prioritize, organize and remove the clutter. The 
nonprofit group National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals has a directory 
on the website at NAPO.net to help you locate a professional in your area. 

If your mom has a bigger, more serious hoarding problem (if her daily functioning is impaired, or if 
she is having financial difficulties, health problems, or other issues because of her hoarding) you’ll 
need to seek professional help. Antidepressants and/or talk therapy can help address control issues, 
anxiety, depression, and other feelings that may underline hoarding tendencies, and make it easier 
for her to confront her disorder. 

To learn more and find professional help see the International OCD Foundation which provides a 
hoarding center on their website (Hoarding.iocdf.org) that offers information, resources, treatments, 
self-help groups, and more. Also see HoardingCleanup.com, a site that has a national database of 
qualified resources including cleaning companies and therapists that can help.

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.

OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder


DID I TELL YOU 
THE STORY…? 

I was having a rather down 
day recently. You know how 
it is; you are going along 100 
miles an hour and finally you crash. I was experiencing 
one of those reality crashes.

Reclining in my chair, drinking coffee, I thought 
of one of my old friends. Oh my, he has been 
gone for almost 5 years now. How time flies by 
so quickly!

You know you have friends and then you have 
those who are really friends. He was without a 
doubt one of the latter. In fact, I do not have any 
friend that quite equals him as a friend.

Thinking about him, I began chuckling. The Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage came in about 
that time and said, “What are you laughing at?”

She knew I was going through a rather busy 
schedule and to find me sitting in a chair chuckling 
was a little strange.

“I was just thinking,” I said while still chuckling, 
“of my good friend Brother Lloyd.”

As soon as I said that, she started chuckling herself 
and sat on the couch. We knew Brother Lloyd 
for 30 years. In those 30 years, we have had some 
great times with him and his wife. The last five 
years of his life, he was a widower.

It seemed like nothing got him down for long. 
Oh yes, he had his issues and would give you a 
commentary on his issues. He never was afraid 
to speak his mind. He had an opinion on every 
subject under the sun and some over the sun. He 
must have had a great mind because he always 
gave people a piece of it.

I knew anytime I was struggling with something, 
all I had to do was call and he knew how to solve 
every problem in the world.

We talked on the phone quite a bit, but also we 
met for lunch at least once a month. He lived 
about two hours from me and so we met in the 
middle at a nice little restaurant.

Thinking back on him, I cannot say how much I 
appreciated our monthly lunches. It got me away 
from my world and I enjoyed being in his world, 
even though it was a short time. We almost could 
order each other’s lunch and sometimes we did.

Of all the friends I have known down the years, 
nobody had more stories to tell than good old 
Brother Lloyd. He had a story for every subject 
you could think of at the time.

I would be talking about something in my life 
and he would interrupt, “Did I ever tell you the 
story about…?” Not waiting for my reply, he 
would go on with the story.

I have heard all his stories, and could tell them 
almost as good as he did. They must have been 
true because every time he told them they were 
almost word for word as before.

Because I admired the old brother so much, I 
listened to each story as though I was hearing it 
for the very first time. I must admit, they always 
had a great application, particularly concerning 
the subject at hand. How he was ever to do that I 
will never know.

Looking back, I wished he‘d put all his stories in 
a book. They would have been a fascinating read 
for anyone.

I must confess I did something once rather 
naughty. We were talking about some subject, I 
can’t remember what now, and I said, “Brother 
Lloyd, did I ever tell you the story about…?”

Without giving him an opportunity to respond, 
I went on with the story. The story I was telling 
him was one of his stories he told me probably 
100 times. I tried to tell it from my perspective, 
but kept it almost word for word.

I was sure he would catch on but he never did. 
When I finished with “his” story he said, “That’s 
quite remarkable because something like that 
happened to me.” Then he went on and retold 
that story as though he was telling it for the very 
first time. As far as I knew, he never caught on. I 
simply listened as though I was hearing it for the 
very first time.

Occasionally, I will think of one of his stories and 
it brings a certain sense of encouragement to my 
heart. Although he has been dead these many 
years, his stories still live in my heart to this very 
day. I only wish I was as good a storyteller as he 
was.

One thing he taught me was that everything that 
happens in a person’s life, whether good or bad, 
is seed for a story. I am quite sure that there was 
a seed of truth in every story he told me. I never 
could tell where the twist was in any of his stories. 
He was such a wonderful brother that I really 
did not care.

Sometimes when my wife and I are talking I will 
say, “Did I ever tell you the story…?” To which 
my wife will always respond, “Yes, you did Brother 
Lloyd.”

I chuckled and then thought of what David said. 
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation 
of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, 
my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

Everybody has a story, but God’s story is the only 
one that really matters.

Dr. James L. Snyder, pastor of the Family of God 
Fellowship, lives with the Gracious Mistress of 
the Parsonage in Ocala, FL. Call him at 352-
687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The 
church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

 
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