Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, June 11, 2022

Mountain View News Saturday, June 11, 2022 


SIERRA MADRE OLDER 
AMERICAN 
OF THE YEAR RECOGNITION 

Wednesday, June 15 4:30 pm-7:30 pmHart Park House Senior Center 

Traditionally the Senior Community Commission 
would be honoring one very special 
individual who has given themselves 
selflessly to volunteering in our community. 
This year the Commission has made a very 
special selection...they have selected to celebrate 
ALL of our seniors! As we begin to 
rediscover our friends, loved ones and 

neighbors, we are learning how incredible 
and resilient each of you are and each one 
of you deserves to be celebrated! 

 Please join the Senior Community Commission 
as we enjoy an evening of finger 
foods, wine, laughter and celebration. The 
theme this year is “Age My Way” so please 
come with some fun stories and words of 
wisdom that we can share with our fellow 
and future seniors. 
No reservations are required. 

Please call Lawren at 626-355-5278 or 
email lheinz@cityofsierramadre.com 
with questions that you may have. 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis 


“The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people 
everywhere march with you.” 
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Message to Troops Before the Invasion, June 6, 1944 

“You are about to embark upon the great crusade toward which we have striven these 
many months. The eyes of the world are upon you…I have full confidence in your courage, 
devotion to duty and skill in battle.” June 6, 1944 Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower 

Last Monday was D-Day, anniversary of the largest seaborne invasion in history which 
began the liberation of France and later western Europe and laid the foundations of 
the Allied victory on the Western Front. Allied infantry and armored divisions began 
landing on the coast of France at 06:30. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of 
their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha beaches. The men landed 
under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches and the shore was 
mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes and barbed wire. German 
casualties on D-Day have been estimated at 4,000 to 9,000 men. Allied casualties were 
documented for at least 10,000 with 4,414 confirmed dead. (Wikipedia) The picture this 
week commemorates this day when so many gave their lives. 

"That road to V-E Day was hard and long, and traveled by weary and valiant men. And 
history will always record where that road began. It began with the first footprints on 
the beaches of Normandy." — George W. Bush 

I’m sure you already know all that, but I thought I’d look it up for myself. The TV and 
cable channels have been showing war movies all weekend, the best one being, “The 
Longest Day” with John Wayne playing Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort. Here’s his best 
quote: “Your assignment tonight is strategic. You can't give the enemy a break. Send him 
to hell!” 

My friend, Celia Kalm, just enjoyed another birthday and a friend gave her a delightful 
little book: “Pocket The Queen Wisdom,” Inspirational quotes and wise words from an 
iconic monarch. Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee has been going on this past week. 
Can you believe it, she’s been the queen for 70 years and she’s 96! Here are a couple of 
my favorite quotes from this little book: 

“Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward 
youngsters and of family disagreements.” 

“I simply ache from smiling. Why are women expected to beam all the time? It’s unfair. 
If a man looks solemn, it’s automatically assumed he’s a serious person, not a miserable 
one.” 

And one last word on the Queen: she drinks a glass of champagne before bed every 
night. 

This week I’ve been reading John Grisham’s “The Judge’s List,” which is the follow-up 
to “The Whistler.” Again, I can hardly get off the couch long enough to do anything 
worthwhile as this book is so good. 
Last week’s Mountain Views News with all the pictures of the graduates in our area was 
simply wonderful. Susan Henderson, our Editor did an amazing job gathering all the 
pictures of these beautiful, hopeful young people and letting us see them. Tom Purcell’s 
column on Page 10 was great, too, about his childhood, which was, to quote Tom, 
“a 1950’s childhood.” Our children enjoyed that same kind of childhood, living up on 
Alegria where the Sutcliffe’s, Witters, Bielys and Blakeslees were our neighbors and all 
the children played outside all day in the summer and each family had their own summoning 
device. As I recall, Doug Sutcliffe whistled. I yelled! 

This made me think of another great book that I’ve enjoyed more than once: Bill Bryson’s 
“The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, A Memoir.” If you haven’t read this, you 
need to. It will make you laugh; I promise. And with the stock market doing what its 
doing, gas prices going higher by the minute and everything in the grocery store costing 
way more than it ought to, a good laugh would be bonus to your day. 

It's June, friends and neighbors. June gloom keeps the heat somewhat at bay and everyone’s 
garden looks fabulous. It’s the last hurrah before the sun burns everything and it 
all looks just plain tired. Here are a few pieces of June trivia for you: In the 15th century, 
most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still 
smelled pretty good. June is also Accordion Awareness Month, Iced Tea Month and 
Candy Month. The June birthstone is the pearl. Pearls were believed to possess magical 
powers. Pearl signifies wealth. If you were born in June, you are a fun person known for 
your sense of humor. You are an extrovert. People love being with you and you are also 
an intelligent person. So there! Little known facts about a well- known month. 

Stay well, find something good to read. Walk and count your steps. Rejoice! You are 
alive! Speaking of good things to read…look right below here at the goodies you could 
be reading written by me!

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

Where you’ll find “Sunrises and Sunflowers Speak Hope”

And “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”

Take a look at both of these books, stuffed with hope and some really good recipes.

And there are Kindle treasures galore you can send straight to your Kindle,

Including the best adventure story ever: “A Treasure Map, A Drunken Owl

And 47 Rattlers in a Bag”

Check me out, friends and neighbors! 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com