Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, February 18, 2023

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 18, 2023 


SENIOR COMMUNITY COMMISSION SEEKING 
“OLDER ‘SIERRA MADRE’ AMERICAN OF THE YEAR” NOMINATIONS 

The City of Sierra Madre Senior Community Commission is seeking nominations for Older ‘Sierra Madre’ 
American of the Year. The honor is a long-standing tradition in Sierra Madre and bestowed upon an exceptional 
Sierra Madrean, age 60 or older, for their outstanding commitment to community service. 
Recommendations are now being accepted for new honorees. Please send nominations to Sierra Madre City 
Hall, c/o Older American Nomination, Community Services Department, 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra 
Madre, CA 91024 by Thursday, March 16, 2023. Forms may be picked up and returned to the Hart Park House 
Senior Center: Hart Park House 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Sierra Madre, CA 91024

 The Senior Community Commission will discuss the selection of the Older ‘Sierra Madre’ American of the 
Year at their regularly scheduled meeting, open to the public, in City Hall Council Chambers on Thursday, 
April 6th at 3:00 p.m. A reception to honor the 2023 Older ‘Sierra Madre’ American of the Year will held on 
Wednesday, May 10th, 2023. 
For more information, please contact the Hart Park House Senior Center (626) 355-5278 x704; or 
the Community Services Department at (626) 355-5278. 


WALKING SIERRA MADRE -The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis 

“I wish all this football would stop interrupting 
the commercials!” 

“Red wine pairs well with pretending to understand 
football.” 

“My idea of a Super Bowl is a large bowl of 
guacamole.” 

The opening ceremonies with Chris Stapleton 
singing the National Anthem, seeing 
tears course down the faces of some of the 
players, the huge flag on the field and the 
women’s teams executing the flyover was 
wonderful. Moved me to tears, too. 

The Chiefs won and seeing Patrick Mahomes 
fall, limp off the field in a lot of pain then 
come back to play injured and lead the Chiefs 
to victory was inspiring. It really was. There 
was a guy who just was NOT going to give 
up his opportunity to win a Super Bowl ring! 

Did you realize that the Farmer’s Dog Food 
spot was the most popular commercial? It followed the life of a chocolate lab and the girl 
who loved him through their years together and as my dear friend Roger LaRocque had a 
dog just like that, it was doubly meaningful. There I was, reaching for the tissues again! 


The NFL’s “Run With It” spot celebrating women and flag football, following the young girl 
and her football, eluding everyone who was trying to grab her flag, including her sneaky 
mother, was hilarious. As was Melissa McCarthy’s Booking.com spot. Amazon’s “Saving 
Sawyer” spot was so sweet. Like we say up there at the top…I wish all this football would 
stop interrupting the commercials! 

And, one more thing…in case you were wondering where the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales 
were, if you blinked you missed them as they were there for just a second at the beginning 
of the Bud commercial. Bummer, dudes! Kevin Bacon? Clydesdales? I know which one I’d 
pick! Well, enough on the Super Bowl. The picture today is a blowup football guy I saw 
staked out on somebody’s front yard the Monday after the game. Yes, he’s a Charger, but 
I just loved that this person had gone to all the trouble to stake out his football guy to celebrate 
the day. 

OK, just one more thing: On February 12th, my favorite TV chef of all time, Bobby Flay, 
hosted the Players Tailgate Party. Yes, celebrity studded, fabulously expensive, but here’s the 
good part…all the surplus food that was not used was donated to a local Arizona non-profit 
that fights food insecurity, instead of throwing it away. Now that’s really cool! 

I saw a terrific article by Harvey MacKay about time a couple of weeks ago and thought I’d 
share a little of it: 

“What would you do if someone gave you a million dollars? Most of us would protect it in 
some way, yet we let one of our most valuable assets slip away with little thought. Time is 
our most valuable possession. We are all given the same amount of time each day – 1,440 
minutes. We save it, we share it, but we can’t store it, speed it up or slow it down. It’s the 
same for all of us. Every minute is precious. Cherish it. Invest it. Use it to do more, grow 
more, give more and be more. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot!” 
(Michael Altshuler)” 

Mr. MacKay winds up by saying that time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but 
you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get 
it back. So take care of those precious minutes. Time is not your enemy…it’s your secret 
weapon. I probably spend too much time in front of the TV and not enough time out walking 
but now that there are tiny hints here and there of Spring breaking through, I’ll do a 
little time management for the better. Time spent with family: Priceless. 

Continuing to speak of time, we’ve gotten through the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day and now 
Ash Wednesday is next Wednesday and we find ourselves in Lent with Easter Sunday arriving 
on April 9th. Talk about time flying! We’ve barely gotten all the Christmas decorations 
put away! 

“Lent is about becoming, doing, and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of 
life 
in us right now.” Sister Joan Chittister 

Thinking about lent, lots of folks think that’s traditionally a time to suffer. To give up our 
favorite things. Well, maybe instead of giving up ice cream or coffee or chocolate chip cookies, 
we could concentrate on doing something positive in our world. Maybe I could donate 
a little more generously to one of our local food banks to help those who are having a really 
tough time. Our Saviour Center in El Monte or Union Rescue Mission come to mind. 
Ukraine, Syria, Turkey all need help. 

Maybe instead of fasting from cookie dough ice cream or a caramel macchiato latte, we 
could concentrate on the fact that God loves us and will never stop loving us. That no matter 
what we do, we can’t make Him love us more or less. I think He would go ahead and have 
the ice cream with us! Just saying. 

This Lenten season maybe we could:

Give up complaining… focus on Gratitude

Give up pessimism… become an Optimist

Give up worry… trust Divine Providence

Give up bitterness… turn to Forgiveness

Give up hatred… return Good for evil

Give up negativism… be Positive

Give up anger… be more Patient

Give up pettiness… again, be more Patient

Give up gloom… enjoy the Beauty all around 

Give up jealousy… pray for Trust

Give up gossiping… think before you Speak

Give up giving up… Hang in There! 

Maybe I could be more patient, forgiving, and just plain kind.
In a world where you can be anything you want to be…Be KIND! 

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 
Look there for “The Crown,” a paperback book that’s practically free!
It’s a beautiful story of what might have happened to that infamous crown of thorns.
With Easter on its way, this little book is the perfect read for yourself or a friend. 


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