Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 20, 2021

Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 20, 2021 

HOW TO HELP YOUR OVERMEDICATED PARENT 

Dear Savvy Senior:
My 75-year-old mother is currently taking 16 different prescription and OTC medications and I’m 
worried she’s taking way too many drugs. Can you suggest any resources that can help us? 
Worried Daughter 

Dear Worried: 
Unfortunately, millions of older Americans 
are taking way too many medications today, 
which raises their risk of dangerous side effects 
and drug interactions. 

According to the American Society of Consultant 
Pharmacists, people aged 65 to 69 take an average o f 
15 prescriptions a year, and those aged 80 to 84 take 18 prescriptions a year. And that’s in addition 
to the myriad of over-the-counter drugs, herbal remedies, vitamins and minerals they may take, 
any of which – alone or in combination – could cause more problems than they cure. 

Even when older patients are taking only necessary and effective drugs, the dosages need a second 
look. As patients age, they tend to metabolize drugs more slowly, meaning the dose that was 
perfect five years ago may now be too high, perhaps causing dizziness and falls. Doses need to be 
continually adjusted with age, and most of the time that doesn’t happen. 

Get a Drug Review 

If you have concerns or questions about the medications your mother is taking, gather up all her 
pill bottles, including her prescription and over-the-counter drugs as well as vitamins and supplements, 
put them in a bag, and take them to her primary physician or pharmacist for a comprehensive 
drug review. 

Medicare provides free drug reviews with a doctor during annual “wellness visits,” and many 
Medicare Part D prescription-drug beneficiaries can get free reviews from pharmacists, too. 

At the drug review, go through each medication and find out if there are any duplicate meds or 
dangerous combinations your mom is taking, and if there are any drugs she could stop taking or 
reduce the dosage. Then, make a medication master list and keep it updated so it can be easily be 
shared whenever your mom sees a doctor. 

To help with this, AARP offers a free “my personal medication record” form that you can download 
and print at AARP-medical-record-form.pdffiller.com. Or, if your mom uses a smartphone, 
she can use a pill tracking app like Medisafe - Pill & Med Reminder (MyMedisafe.com). 

Other Tips 

If possible, your mom should also use a single pharmacy to fill all her prescriptions. The software 
that pharmacies use to manage patient prescriptions is designed to cross reference all medications 
a patient is taking to ensure that there are no drug interactions that could cause harm. 

Also, the next time your mom’s doctor prescribes a new medication, she should ask about nondrug 
treatment options that might be safer. If the drug is indeed necessary, she needs to find out how 
long she’s supposed to take it and the side-effects it can cause. 

Another good resource that can help keep your mom safe is the American Geriatrics Society, 
which has identified 10 different types of medications that people 65 and older should almost 
always avoid because of the risk of serious side effects. They include the anti-anxiety drugs diazepam 
(Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax), and sleep drugs such as zolpidem (Ambien) and eszopiclone 
(Lunesta). To see the complete list, visit HealthInAging.org and search “10 medications older 
adults should avoid.” 

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. 


FAMILY MATTERS

 By Marc Garlett 

ESTATE PLANNING MUST HAVES FOR PARENTS – 
MORE THAN BASIC DOCUMENTS 

A comprehensive estate plan can protect what matters most to you -- everything you own and everyone 
you love. 

Obviously, this includes providing for the care of your children as an essential part of your plan 
and peace of mind. But many parents struggle with provisions such as naming a legal guardian for 
their child in their plan. Even the fictional parents in the popular television sitcom Modern Family 
struggled with this issue in one episode. While Jay and his new and much younger wife Gloria agonized 
and argued about who they should name as a legal guardian for their children, their children 
were left at risk of a judge – a stranger – ultimately making that decision for the family. Not ideal, 
under any circumstances. 

So if you are the parent of a minor child, stop what you’re doing and take a few minutes to consider: 
if both you and your child’s other parent were to become incapacitated or die right now, who would 
step forward to care for your child? Would that be who you would want to raise your child if you 
could not? Is that the same person you would want to take care of the financial assets you are leaving 
behind? 

And, what about the short-term? Have you named first responders and granted them legal authority 
to take immediate custody of your child if something happens to you? If not, even if you have 
named legal guardians, your child could be taken into foster care if something happens to you, 
while the legal guardians go through the court process to secure custody. 

Unfortunately, even if you have made those hard decisions and named legal guardians in a Will, 
your kids could still be at risk, because Wills do not go into effect when you become incapacitated, 
or if your named guardians all live far from your home, and it wouldn’t protect against anyone who 
may challenge your decisions. You want to ensure your kids are raised by the people you want, in 
the way you want, never taken into the care of strangers (even temporarily). 

Don’t settle for rudimentary estate planning documents. They won’t specifically address the needs 
of a family with young children. A comprehensive plan which protects young kids should not only 
name a legal guardian for your child outside of your Will so it works even during incapacity, but 
it should also ensure your child’s care is fully provided for, in the short-term and the long-term, 
financially, physically, and emotionally, no matter what. 

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a mission to help parents protect what they love most. His office is locatedat 55 Auburn Avenue, Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a legacyof love and financial security for your family by calling 626.355.4000 or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for more 

information. 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS 


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …November Birthdays* Flo Mankin, Alberta Curran, 
Carmela Frontino, Kathy Wood, Lena Zate, Joe Pergola, Janice Kacer, Valerie 
Howard, 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, Jill Girod, Pat Krok, Jeanne Martin. 

* To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required 
SENIOR ACTIVITIES IN SIERRA MADRE 

City Hall and the Hart Park House will be closed Thursday, November 11, 2021 in observance 
of Veterans Day and Wednesday, November 24– Friday, November 26, 2021 in 
observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. 

THE HART PARK HOUSE SENIOR CENTER IS OPEN!!!!

 In house lunch dining service will not resume at this time. Access to the computer/
classroom is temporarily unavailable. All Classes and programs will maintain 
a distance of 6 ft between participants. All equipment used will be sanitized after 
each use before it is stored. Each participant is responsible for providing their own 
water, masks and additionally needed supplies for each class. Please call the Community 
Services Department at 355-7394 with any questions or concerns. 

DOMINOES TRAIN GAME 
Wednesday, 11/17, 11:00 am— 12:30 pm Hart Park House The object of the game 
is for a player to play all the tiles from their hand onto one or more trains, emanating 
from a central hub or “station”. Call Lawren with questions that you may have. 
Led by volunteer Loni. 

PAINT PALS 
Tuesday, 11/16, 10:00 am—Hart Park House If you enjoy painting, sketching, water 
color, or making some other form of artistic creation please join our new program, 
PAINT PALS!!! Bring a project that you are working on to the HPH and 
enjoy some quality art time with other artists looking to paint with a new pal. 

TEA AND TALK SENIOR BOOK CLUB 
Wednesday, 11/10 & 11/23— 9:00 am Staff has launched a new book club series, 
Tea and Talk, which meets twice a month to discuss the fun, suspense, intrigue, 
love and so much more that each selection will have in store! 

FIBER FRIENDS 
Tuesday, 11/9 & 11/23—10:00 am If you enjoy knitting, crocheting, embroidery, 
needlepoint, bunka, huck, tatting or cross stitch then we have a group for you! 
Bring your current project, a nonalcoholic beverage, then sit and chat with like-
minded fiber friends. We meet in the Hart Park House 

CHAIR YOGA 
Every Monday and Wednesday, 10-10:45 am Please join us for some gentle stretching, 
yoga, balance exercise and overall relaxation with Paul. Classes are ongoing 
and held in the Memorial Park Covered Pavilion. 

HULA AND POLYNESIAN DANCE 

 Every Friday, 10-10:45 am Bring a lei, your flower skirt or just your desire to 
dance! Hula in the Park is back and waiting for you to join in on all the fun! Memorial 
Park Pavilion. 

Please call Lawren Heinz with any Hart Park House Senior Center program questions 
or to reserve your spot in classes that have limit space. (626) 355-7394 or 
send an email to lheinz@cityofsierramadre.com 

MICRO METRO INFORMATION Service hours of operation are: Monday—
Sunday between 5:30 am-9:30 pm. Download the Metro Micro App, visit: book.
metro-micro.net or call 323-GO-METRO (323) 446-3876 


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder 

THANKSGIVING QUANDRY: 
Roast Turkey or Lame Duck? 

My father used to tell me 

anything worth doing was 
worth doing right the first time. If you have 
time to do it the second time, you have time 
to do it right the first time. 

As fathers go, he was right. It seems most 
people have not learned this lesson, least of 
all politicians who are supposedly serving 
the interests of their constituency. I know 
there are good politicians in America today. 
Nobody seems to know who they are, 
though. 

The reason I have been thinking about this 
is I'm sitting here indulging in the delicate 
aroma floating in from the kitchen where the 
Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage has begun 
her ritual of roasting the Thanksgiving 
turkey. I say turkey, but really, she is roasting 
three turkeys. One is for our family Thanksgiving 
dinner and the other two are for the 
church Thanksgiving dinner. 

Somewhere along the line, probably years 
before she met me, she learned the magnificent 
secret of doing things right the first 
time. Not like some people we hear about 
these days who don't have time to do it right 
the first time, but seem to have plenty of time 
to do it over and over again, sometimes four 
times. 

Anything worth doing right the first time 
demands planning. If anyone knows planning, 
it certainly is my wife. If things were 
left up to me, nothing would ever get done. 
I plan to learn how to plan someday, but my 
plans seem to have fallen apart. 

In our home, it begins about the middle of 
October when my wife says rather pensively, 
"Let's see. Thanksgiving is about five weeks 
away. Should we have a turkey this year?" 

I can never tell if this is a real question, a 
rhetorical question or if she is trying to set 
me up for something. Believe me; I've been 
set up so many times I have a hard time lying 
down. For the first hundred years of our 
marriage, I always said, turkey. After all, 
what else do you have at Thanksgiving time? 

However, this year was a little different. 
When I responded with my usual answer she 
said, "But we've had turkey for years. Aren't 
you growing bored of turkey?" 

If there's one thing I don't ever get tired of 
it's turkey. You can do so many things with 
turkey. There is roast turkey, sliced turkey 
sandwiches, turkey salad and turkey soup 
just to name a few. 

The only problem at our house is, the turkey 
rarely survives the first day, which is a 
tribute, not so much to our consumption as 
a family as to the genius of the family chef. I 
have often wondered what turkey soup really 
tastes like. 

This expertise in the direction of the Thanksgiving 
roast turkey did not come without 
cost. It took years for my wife to master the 

art of roasting a turkey. Unfortunately, much 
of this practice was on Yours Truly. She has 
been roasting me for years and still complains 
that I'm not quite done yet. That really 
burns me up. 

Only last week she complained I was a little 
hard on the outside and rather soft on the inside. 
I was tempted to shift the blame on her 
but when it comes to this area; I am more of 
a lame duck than a finely roasted turkey. My 
philosophy is along these lines; I'd rather let 
things happen and then try to adjust to the 
consequences. 

My good wife is of the opinion that you create 
your own consequences. Moreover, when 
she says this she is usually looking at me a 
little askew. 

"Don't you know that the Thanksgiving Turkey 
does not roast itself?" 

Being the lame duck I am, that thought never 
played with my mind. I have always enjoyed 
the results of the roasted turkey without a 
thought about how it got to my table. 

While I was enjoying the aroma of the turkey 
roasting in the kitchen, I came up with several 
suggestions along these lines. 

First, I need to find things that are worth doing 
in the first place. How much time I have 
wasted on things not really worth my time 
or effort is beyond my computation. Like my 
wife, I need to be a little more picky about 
the things I choose to do. Not everything is 
worth my time. 

Second, those things worth doing certainly 
deserve my best efforts. If I have to redo 
something, it means I'm not putting my best 
effort into the project. And at my age, I don't 
have time to waste on things that are not 
worth my best effort. 

Third, there is no finer satisfaction than a job 
well done. 

I never understood that until recently. In the 
middle of our Thanksgiving dinner when 
everybody is enjoying the food and complementing 
the chef, my wife is sitting in her 
chair smiling. I never really knew why until 
now. 

This must be how our heavenly Father felt 
with Jesus at his baptism. "And the Holy 
Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a 
dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, 
which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in 
thee I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22). 

The best way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to 
recognize the wonderful work God has done 
for our salvation, which did not come without 
the ultimate cost, the sacrifice of His Son. 
This was done once and for all. 

Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God 
Fellowship, Ocala, FL 34483 

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