Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 14, 2020

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Mountain View News Saturday, November 14, 2020 

HOW TO TRACK DOWN OLD FRIENDS ONLINE

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

Dear Savvy Senior:

I’m interested in tracking down some old friends 
I’ve lost touch with over the years but could use 
some help. What websites can you recommend that 
can help me find them? Tracking Tom

Dear Tom:

Thanks to the Internet, tracking down long-lost 
friends from many years ago is relatively easy to 
do and, in most cases, it won’t cost you a cent. 
Here are some tips and online tools to help you 
get started.

Remembering the Details

Before you begin your search, a good first step 
is to jot down any information you can remember 
or find out about the people you’re trying to 
locate. Things like their full name (maiden and 
married), age or birth date, last known address 
or phone number, old e-mail address, names of 
family members, etc. Knowing details can help 
you turn up clues while you search.

Social Media and Search Engines

After you compile your information, a good place 
to start your search is at social media sites like 
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. And 
search engines like Google and Yahoo.

When using search engines, type in the name 
of the person you’re searching for in quotation 
marks, for example, “John Smith.” You can narrow 
your search by adding other criteria like their 
nickname or middle name, the city or state they 
may live in, or even their occupation.

People Search Sites

If your initial search comes up empty, you can 
also use people searches like AnyWho.com, Intelius.
com or WhitePages.com. These sites will 
provide a list of potential matches from across 
the U.S.

Because many people share the same name, these 
sites will also supply details to help identify the 
right person, perhaps including their age, prior 
hometowns, names of relatives, colleges attended 
or employer.

While these sites are free to use at a basic level, 
they charge a small fee for providing certain details 
like the persons contact information. WhitePages, 
however, sometimes provides home phone 
numbers for free.

Niche Finding Sites

Here are a few other niche people-finding websites 
to help you with your search.

To look for old high school classmates, try Classmates.
com. This site has contact information only 
for people who have registered with it. But even 
if your friend hasn’t registered, it could provide 
contact info for another classmate who remains 
in touch with your friend.

Another option is to check out your high school 
alumni website. Not every school has its own site, 
but some do, and you can look for it by going to 
any search engine and typing in the name of the 
school with the city and state it’s located in. You 
can also search at AlumniClass.com, a huge hosting 
site for thousands of high schools across the 
U.S.

If you’re looking for old college friends, look for 
an alumni directory on the school’s website. You 
might be able to access your friend’s contact info 
by completing an online registration. Or, try calling 
or emailing your alumni relations department 
and ask them to pass on your contact info 
to your friend.

If you’re looking for someone you served with in 
the military, Military.com offers a free “Buddy 
Finder” service that has a database of more than 
20 million records – visit Military.com/buddy-
finder. You can also search for free at GIsearch.
com, TogetherWeServed.com and VetFriends.
com.

If you can’t find any current information about 
the person you’re searching for, it could be that 
he or she is dead. To find out if that’s the case, use 
obituary databases such as Tributes.com and Legacy.
com, which has a newspaper obituary search 
tool from hundreds of U.S. newspapers.

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! …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, Pat Krok, Irene Nakagawa, Anna Ross, Mary 
Steinberg, Mary Bowser, Susan Clifton, Mary Higgins, Kim Buchanan, Leigh 
Thach and Sue Quinn. * To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the 
paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required


SENIOR ACTIVITIES IN SIERRA MADRE

CHAIR YOGA Every Monday and Wednesday, 10-10:45 am Chair yoga with Paul is coming back! Class will 
begin on Monday, August 10th and will be held in the Covered Pavilion in Memorial Park in front of the Senior 
Center. Please join us for some gentle stretching, yoga, balance exercise and overall relaxa-tion. Class size is limited 
so please call 264-8923 to reserve your spot. 

HAWAIIAN AND POLYNESIAN DANCE CLASS Every Friday, 10-10:45 am Class will also meet in the Cov-
ered Pavilion in Memorial Park in front of the Senior Center. Join the class with instructor Barbara as she leads 
you through the art of Hula. Please call 264-8923 with any questions. 

Classes will maintain a distance of 6 ft between participants. ALL participants must be wearing masks for the 
duration of the class. All equipment used will be sanitized after each use before it is stored. Each participant is 
responsible for providing their own water, masks and needed equipment or sup-plies for each class. Please call the 
Community Services Department at 355-5278 with any questions or concerns.

OCTOBER CRAFT

Wednesday, October 21, 11:00 am. Please join me as we try our hands at making Wooden Owl Orna-ments. This 
will be a new type of program as we create our masterpieces via Zoom to ensure all of our safety. I will have all the 
supplies individually packaged and ready for pickup on Monday, October 19th pickup will be between 10:00 am-
2:00 pm. I will have enough supplies for 10 participants. Reservations are required so please call 355-5278 x 704 
to secure your spot. Please note that this is an ONLINE class that will be held via Zoom. We will not be meeting 
in the Hart Park House Senior Center.

IDEAS

 Do you have any ideas for programming? Is there a class or club you would like to see in our Senior Community? 
Please call or email Lawren Heinz with ideas or questions. 626-355-5278 x 704 lheinz@cityofsierramadre.com

 City staff are monitoring email communication daily, and although employees are minimizing direct engagement 
and interfacing less with the community, please note that voice messages, emails, and social media responses are 
being addressed in the most efficient and timely manner. If at any time additional information is needed, please 
contact City Hall Administrative Services at (626) 355-7135, Monday-Thursday from 7:30a – 5:30p, as they are 
taking messages and e-mailing the appropriate per-son. For messages that may trickle in otherwise, please note 
our team is remotely checking voicemail daily at the Community Services Department, (626) 355-5278 x702.

SIERRA MADRE SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

The City of Sierra Madre is following these procedures to provide current communication in light of COVID-19 
and keep the Senior Community and families informed of essential information and resources. City staff are 
monitoring email communication daily, and although employees are minimizing direct engagement and practicing 
social distancing in the community, please note that voice messages, emails, and social media responses are 
being addressed in the most efficient and timely manner.

If at any moment additional information is needed, please contact City Hall Administrative Services at (626) 355-
7135, Monday-Thursday from 7:30a – 5:30p, as they are taking messages and e-mailing the appropriate person.

 For messages that may trickle in otherwise, please note our team is remotely checking voicemail daily at the 
Community Services Department, (626) 355-5278 x702.

 Community Services Department will continue email communication with Senior residents and aging community 
members.

 If you know of family members or neighbors who may benefit from accessing information electronically, and 
to receive the department’s Seniors Newsletter via email but may not otherwise have been included on an email 
group list, please send your request with email address to the following team members: Lawren Heinz Lheinz@
cityofsierramadre.com and Clarissa Lowe Clowe@cityofsierramadre.com.

 City Social Media will continue via Facebook as well as Instagram, and information sharing will include updates 
as details becomes available.

Mater Dolorosa - Sierra Madre Meal Pick-Up Program provides seal-packaged frozen meals, 5-per person 
every Thursday, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. at Hart Park House Senior Center 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Donations 
are accepted. Call (626) 355-5278; x702 or 704. YWCA Intervale Meal Program - Effective 
Wednesday, April 1, 2020

YWCA has transitioned their distribution of take home meals at the Sierra Madre Hart Park House 
Senior Center to a home-delivery meal program. Participants previously reserved for meal pick-up 
as of Wednesday, 3/25/20 were informed that they would begin to have their meals delivered to their 
homes, beginning Wednesday, April 1, 2020 until further notice.

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


GETTING DIVORCED? DON’T OVERLOOK THESE 
4 UPDATES TO YOUR ESTATE PLAN—PART 1

Going through divorce can be an overwhelming experience that 
impacts nearly every facet of your life, including estate planning. 
Yet, with so much to deal with during the divorce process, many 
people forget to update their plan or put it off until it’s too late.
Failing to update your plan for divorce can have a number of potentially 
tragic consequences, some of which you’ve likely not considered—and 
in most cases, you can’t rely on your divorce lawyer to bring them up. 
If you are in the midst of a divorce, and your divorce lawyer has not 
brought up estate planning, there are several things you need to know. First off, you need to update 
your estate plan, not only after your divorce is final, but as soon as you know a split is inevitable. 
Here’s why: until your divorce is final, your marriage is legally in full effect. This means if you die or 
become incapacitated while your divorce is ongoing and haven’t updated your estate plan, your soon-
to-be ex-spouse could end up with complete control over your life and assets. And that’s generally not 
a good idea, nor what you would want.

Given that you’re ending the relationship, you probably wouldn’t want him or her having that 
much power, and if that’s the case, you must take action. While state laws can limit your ability 
to make certain changes to your estate plan once your divorce has been filed, here are a few of 
the most important updates you should consider making as soon as divorce is on the horizon.
1. Update your power of attorney documents

If you were to become incapacitated by illness or injury during your divorce, the very person
you are paying big money to legally remove from your life would be granted complete
authority over all of your legal, financial, and medical decisions. Given this, it’s vital that
you update your power of attorney documents as soon as you know divorce is coming.
Your estate plan should include both a durable financial power of attorney and a medical 
power of attorney. A durable financial power of attorney allows you to grant an individual of 
your choice the legal authority to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf should you 
become unable to make such decisions for yourself. Similarly, a medical power of attorney grants 
someone the legal authority to make your healthcare decisions in the event of your incapacity.
Without such planning documents in place, your spouse has priority to make financial and legal 
decisions for you. And since most people typically name their spouse as their decision maker in these 
documents, it’s critical to take action—even before you begin the divorce process—and grant this 
authority to someone else, especially if things are anything less than amicable between the two of you. 
2.Update your beneficiary designations

As soon as you know you are getting divorced, update beneficiary designations for assets
that do not pass through a will or trust, such as bank accounts, life insurance policies, and
retirement plans. Failing to change your beneficiaries can cause serious trouble down the road.
For example, if you get remarried following your divorce, but haven’t changed the beneficiary of your 
401(k) plan to name your new spouse, the ex you divorced 15 years ago could end up with your 
retirement account upon your death. And due to restrictions on changing beneficiary designations 
after a divorce is filed, the timing of your beneficiary change is particularly critical. 

In California, once either spouse files divorce papers with the court, neither party can legally make 
changes to non-probate transfers without the consent of their soon to be ex-spouse. This means you 
can make a new will (since that’s a probate transfer) but you cannot change your trust, IRA, 401k 
or life insurance beneficiaries. With this in mind, if you’re anticipating a divorce, you may want to 
consider changing your beneficiaries prior to filing divorce papers, and then post-divorce you can 
always change them again to match whatever is determined in the divorce settlement.

Dedicated to empowering your family, building your wealth and 
defining your legacy,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a mission to help 
parents protect what they love most. His office is located at 55 
Auburn Avenue, Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an appointment 
to sit down and talk about ensuring a legacy of love and financial security for your

family by calling 626.355.4000 or visit www.CaliLaw.com for more information.


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

BUG! BUG! WHERE'S THE BUG?

As far back as I can remember, every 
time I would leave the house, 
the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage 
would say, "Be careful. 
Drive safely." It’s as though she doesn’t think I could 
drive carefully without giving me some instructions. I 
think it has become just a routine for her.

There are reasons behind all of that. I've been involved 
in quite a few accidents, although not serious. An accident 
can create a whole lot of trouble, especially with 
the insurance company. There have also been times I 
have run out of gas.

When I have an accident, I have to call the insurance 
company. When I run out of gas, I have to call the 
Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. One of those calls, 
and I will not say which one, I do not want to make.

Although I've not had many accidents, they still are accidents. 
Although most of them were not my fault, I 
still got blamed.

"Well," my wife explained to me, "you were the one behind 
the wheel, so it has to be your responsibility. You 
should know how to control your car."

She does have a point. I should know how to control 
my car, but there are times, and it's hard to explain, 
when the control is completely out of hand. This is 
something the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage cannot 
understand.

She has a marvelous and wonderful way of controlling 
everything in front of her. Even me. If she can’t control 
it or fix it then there is absolutely no hope.

We’ve been married longer than the number of fingers 
on my hand and toes on my feet and during that time 
she has never had an accident. At least, I don’t know of 
any accident that she might’ve had.

Every year when it comes time to renew our insurance, 
she reminds me, "Don't forget to renew our insurance 
because you just might need it this coming year."

I suppose she's right more times and wrong. That's the 
frustrating thing. If I were right every time she was 
wrong, I would never be right.

Giving this some thought over the years, I have just accepted 
the fact that I'm the one in the house that has 
the accidents, which is why we need to have car insurance. 
That was until recently.

I love it when the tables are turned, and last week the 
tables were wonderfully turned in her direction.

Nobody saw this coming, but that in itself makes it 
rather enjoyable.

My wife had various places to go last Thursday, which 
is a normal thing for her. She's always busy, particularly 
visiting thrift stores.

One thing about my wife is that she does not like insects. 
I, on the other side of the marital aisle, are fascinated 
with insects of all kinds. It is very hard for me to 
kill a fly even when it's bugging me.

I love critters of all denominations.

As she was driving, she felt something on her leg. She 
simply shook it off and kept driving. She is always a 
very well focused person, and she was entirely focused 
on getting to her next destination. All the while, something 
seemed to be crawling up her leg.

While driving, she couldn't see what was crawling up 
her leg, so she shook her leg.

Then she stopped at a red light. There was a car in front 
of her which she didn't pay much attention to. While 
she was stopped, she thought she would look into what 
was crawling up her leg.

Her foot was on the brake pedal, and as she looked 
down, she saw a bug crawling up her leg, which threw 
her into a frenzy. She jumped, her foot got off of the 
brake pedal, and she reached down to grab the bug 
and throw it out the window. As she did this, her car 
lunged forward and hit the back of the car in front of 
her.

Officially, this was an accident. She got out, and the 
man in the car in front of her get out, and they looked 
at the damage, fortunately, there was very little damage. 
They exchange insurance cards and names, and so 
forth.

Then she went home. I was already home, and as she 
came in the door, her cell phone rang, and it was our 
insurance company. I sat there, overhearing all the 
information about her "accident." She hung up the 
phone, looked at me, and said, "It wasn't my fault. It 
was that stinking bug's fault."

"But," I said as soberly as possible, "weren't you behind 
the wheel?"

She just looked at me with both hands on her hips and 
then turned around and walked away.

Nobody was hurt, not even the vehicles themselves. 
But it was an “accident.”

The next morning she had to go somewhere else, and 
as she opened the door, I said to her very carefully, “Be 
safe. Drive carefully.” She looked back at me and said, 
“Very funny.” It's so wonderful to have the upper hand 
finally.

As she closed the door behind her, I chuckled and 
then thought of a Scripture verse. "Therefore all things 
whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do 
you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" 
(Matthew 7:12).

One thing I have learned in life is to be careful what 
you allow to bug you.


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