Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 12, 2023

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 12, 2023 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …AUGUST Birthdays*

Nancy Beckham, Karlene Englert, Juanita Fernandez, Jeanette Francis, 
Joseph Kiss, Jacquie Pergola, Pat Miranda, Jerry Burnett, Margaret Aroyan, 
Phyllis Burg, Beverly Clifton, Rosemary Morabito, Susan Poulsen, Joy Barry, 
Marcia Bent, Joan Spears, Ruth Torres, Jane Zamanzadeh. Helen Stapenhorst, 
Chandy Shair, Heidi Hartman, Erma Gutierrez, Margaret Switzer

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


SENIOR CLUB Every Saturday at Noon Hart Park House

Open to all seniors 50+ Fun - Games - And More! Call Mark at 626-355-3951 

TEA AND TALK BOOK CLUB

Wednesday, 7/12 and 7/26 9:00 am Hart Park House

Tea and Talk, meets twice a month to discuss the fun, suspense, intrigue, love and so 
much more that each selection will have in store! Call Lawren 626-355-5278 for 

current selection and feel free to join at any time.

HULA AND POLYNESIAN DANCE

 BEGINNERS - Every Thursday 10-11:00 am

 INTERMEDIATE Every Friday 10-11:00 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 Covered Pavilion.

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 or the 
Hart Park House. 

BEST MEDICAL ALERT SYSTENS YOU DON'T HAVE TO WEAR


Dear Savvy Senior:

Are there any monitored medical alert devices that 
you know of that don’t require pushing a wearable 
help button? My 82-year-old father, who lives alone, 
has fallen twice during the past year but doesn’t like 
wearing an SOS pendant button. Searching Daughter

 

Dear Searching:

Yes, there are actually several monitored medical 
alert systems and other tech-nologies on the market 
today that have voice-activated capabilities that let 
sen-iors call for help using voice commands, without 
pushing a wearable help but-ton.

 

These new technologies are very helpful for elderly 
seniors that live alone who forget, or prefer not to 
wear a help button, as well as for those who have 
physi-cal challenges that makes using a help button 
difficult.

 

By simply speaking the “wake words” these devices 
will connect your dad to a trained dispatcher at a 
24/7 monitoring center who will find out what the 
prob-lem is, and get him the help he needs, whether 
it’s calling emergency services, or contacting a family 
member, friend or neighbor to come and help 
him.

 

All of these technologies also offer family/caregiver 
smartphone apps that will help you keep tabs on 
your dad from afar and notify you know if a problem 
oc-curs.

 

Hands-Free Medical Alerts

Some of the best voice-focused medical alert systems 
available today are GetSafe, Aloe Care Health 
and HandsFree Health.

 

Rated by U.S. News & World Report as their No. 
1 medical alert system for 2023, GetSafe (GetSafe.
com) comes with a cellular base console, voice-activated 
and push wall buttons, an optional personal 
help button and fall detection sensors. To call for 
help your dad would simply say “Call 911” twice and 
he would be connected to GetSafe’s 24/7 monitoring 
service. Prices for GetSafe start at $79 plus a $30 
monthly monitoring fee.

 

Another highly rated system is Aloe Care Health 
(AloeCare.com), which comes with a voice-activated 
Smart Hub and optional wearable help button 
with fall de-tection capabilities. This system would 
connect your dad to the Aloe Care 24/7 monitoring 
center by simply saying “Emergency” repeatedly 
until connected. It can also make voice command 
nonemergency calls to preassigned contacts. Prices 
start at $150 plus a monthly fee of $30.

 

The WellBe by HandsFree Health (HandsFreeHealth.
com) is a nice third option to consider. This comes 
with the WellBe Medical Alert Speaker that would 
let your dad call for help by saying “OK WellBe Call 
Emergency.”

 

WellBe also offers hands-free calling and messaging 
to contacts, will answer health questions, and 
provide reminders for medications and doctor appoint-
ments. It also offers a medical alert watch and 
pendant (sold separately) with fall detection capabilities. 
WellBe starts at $100 plus $20/month.

 

Smart Home Solution

Instead of a traditional medical alert system, another 
terrific hands-free way to call for help is to 
get your dad an Amazon Echo device (prices range 
from $50 to $250) and sign him up for Alexa Together 
(Amazon.com/AlexaTogether). This is remote 
caregiving service that will turn his Echo into 
a medical alert system. To get help your dad would 
say “Alexa, call for help” to be connected to their 
24/7 Urgent Response center.

 

Alexa Together, which costs $20/month, also works 
with compatible third-party fall detection devices 
like Vayyar and AltumView. If a fall is detected, Alexa 
can ask your dad if he needs help, then connect 
him to the Urgent Response line and alert his emergency 
contacts.

 

Amazon Echo devices also provide a bevy of other 
features your dad may find useful. For example, 
Echo’s will let your dad make hands-free calls, receive 
re-minders, set timers and alarms, control 
smart home devices, check the weather, play his 
favorite music and much more.

 

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.

© 2023 The American National Red Cross | 376802-01 CW1-800-RED CROSS | RedCrossBlood.org | Download the Blood Donor AppDonate blood. help save lives.
[ 47 ] • Order ID: 1542819 • Item ID: 7046677 • Qty: 1 of 1 • 006422805 • 2015-APL-01955 • ARLA • 235306 
Blood Drive 
City of Sierra Madre 
Location: Main Room 
222 W Sierra Madre Blvd 
Sierra Madre, CA 91024 
Monday, August 14, 2023 
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 
Please visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter sponsor code: COSM to schedule an 
appointment. 
Scan to be directed to 
RapidPass® 
Streamline your donation experience and save up to 15 
minutes by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass to 
complete your pre-donation reading and health history 
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an appointment. 
FAMILY MATTERS

 By Marc Garlett


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

DON'T SEND YOUR KIDS BACK TO SCHOOL WITHOUT 
THESE DOCUMENTS

ONE MORE SCAM CALL AND I'M GOING TO 
SCREAM!

Upon retirement, my life 
changed in few ways. I'm still as 
busy as before; I just don't get a 
paycheck for being busy. Nothing has changed that 
much.

The one thing that has changed is I schedule a nap 
every day. As most people know, a NAP is simply 
Navigating A Position. That position is level. At 
my age, I tell people that having these naps is essential; 
every day, I schedule a NAP at a particular 
time known only to myself.

It's important for me to keep this a secret so nobody 
knows when I'm doing it. I try to keep it from 
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage for obvious 
reasons. Usually, right after lunch, she goes to 
the store and picks up groceries. As soon as she 
closes the front door, I'm in my lazy chair, leaning 
back, ready to snooze away.

There is only one problem with this scenario. My 
phone is next to my lazy chair, in case anybody 
needs to reach me. The truth being said, since my 
retirement, nobody needs to get a hold of me. But 
you never know, and I can only hope. Hab-its are 
hard to break.

The other day I was in the middle of sawing some 
very important logs when a noise next to my chair 
frightened me. It was my phone. It took me a while 
to re-alize the phone was ringing, and I needed to 
answer. Who knows who's calling me?

Setting up, I cleared my throat and answered the 
phone. Wouldn't you know it was one of those 
phone scams? For some reason, the person on the 
other end knew my car warranty had just expired. 
For his information, that car warranty ran out 10 
years ago, and it was a truck, not a car.

I wasn't too happy with this phone call, and I must 
confess that I let the person on the other end of the 
phone know how unhappy I was. It's good I don't 
know French.

That took me a while to settle down after that kind 
of phone call, but I soon drifted off into La-la-land, 
my favorite place.

It wasn't long before I heard the phone ring again, 
and without even thinking, I sat up and answered 
the phone.

After all, why would anybody call me the second 
time? Was it another scam?

This time it had something to do with my Medicare. 
According to the person on the other end of 
the phone, he had an amazing offer for me to enhance 
my Medi-care coverage. Being drowsy from 
sleeping, I didn't quite understand what he was 
talking about.

"According to our records," the person said most 
enthusiastically, "you qualify for an upgrade in 
your Medicare coverage."

I wasn't a happy camper because my nap time is 
a fairly important part of my day, and how dare 
somebody interfere with that sacred time.

With a bit of anger, I asked, "Is there any extra coverage 
for mental insanity? I am about to go crazy."

The next thing I heard was a click on the phone.

My phone buzzed all afternoon, and I was about to 
lose my mind.

The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came 
home and noticed I was sitting up in my chair, 
fully awake. She just looked at me and then took 
her groceries into the kitchen.

Then, surprise, surprise, surprise, my phone rang 
again. I answered it, and a live person was on the 
other end of the phone. Just then, a thought came 
to me. I called my wife and said, "My dear, I think 
there's a thrift store owner on the phone and would 
like to talk to you."

She almost danced her way to me to pick up the 
phone. I must say I was dancing in my head when 
she came.

"Hello," she said enthusiastically, "I've been expecting 
your call. Thanks for call-ing."

Then there was a pause, and she said, "Who did 
you say you were?"

Another pause, and I heard her say, "You better 
never call me again." And she hung up the phone.

Looking at me with one of "her looks," I could see 
she wasn't very happy about it. She stood before 
me, staring a little bit, and then said, "Don't you 
ever do that again to me. Do you understand?"

What was I supposed to do? There was so much 
laughter within me that I didn't know if I could 
keep it from exploding. When she went back into 
the kitchen, I softly chuckled to myself. Then I 
heard, "You're not laughing, are you?"

"No, my dear," I said, "I was just thinking about a 
joke. Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7, 8, 9."

"No, you weren't," she said sarcastically, "and that's 
not even funny."

That gave me pause to think. Does it matter who 
is lying? Is a scammer’s lie worse than my lie? I 
then thought about some verses of Scripture that 
address this.

Proverbs 12:22-23, “Lying lips are abomination to 
the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight. A 
prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart 
of fools proclaimeth foolishness.”

It’s easy to think that my lying is not as bad as some 
scammer trying to hook me out of some money. 
Lying is lying, and I’m trying to process that. Lying 
is a seri-ous business, no matter who does it.

As summer comes to 
a close, and back-to-
school excitement fills 
the air, there is one crucial task that is often overlooked: 
designating legal guardians for your minor 
children. Legal guardians are the individuals 
you entrust with the care of your children if, for 
any reason, you are unable to do so yourself. 

In the hustle of back-to-school shopping and end-
of-season summer fun, it might seem like naming 
legal guardians for your kids is a low priority, but 
nothing could be farther from the truth. 

As kids return to school, they’ll spend most of 
their day in the care of other people - their teachers, 
coaches, and babysitters. That means your 
children will spend most of their time with people 
who do not have any legal authority to take care 
of them for more than a brief time in the event 
you are in an accident or can’t be reached for any 
reason. 

And, if your kids are going off to college, you’ll no 
longer be able to make decisions for them or have 
access to their medical records in an emergency 
unless your now-adult kids create Powers of Attorney 
and Health Care Directives.

Don’t Rely on Informal Agreements

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and as 
parents, you usually have a network of friends 
or family you can rely on to step in and care for 
your child if needed. But it's essential not to rely 
solely on informal ar-rangements with relatives or 
friends to care for your kids if you can’t. 

Whether you are unconscious in the hospital 
or have passed away, there’s a chance your child 
could be tak-en into protective custody by social 
services until you recover or until a permanent 
arrangement can be made. 

But here’s the thing, the person who ends up taking 
your child may not be someone your child 
knows or loves, but a complete stranger in the foster 
care system. Or, maybe even worse, that person 
could be some-one you never want to raise 
your kids but who is appointed anyway by a well-
meaning court system that doesn’t know what 
you would want or how you would want your 
children to be raised.

In addition, if you don’t name legal guardians for 
your kids, you risk creating conflict among family 
members who want to care for your children 
and may subject your loved ones to a lengthy and 
costly court process—an unnecessary burden 
that can easily be avoided. In fact, not naming 
backup guardians is a common mistake people 
make when choosing a guardian for their kids.

You know your child and your family better than 
anyone else, and you know who would be the best 
fit for raising your child if something happened 
to you. But unfortunately, unless you document 
your choice of guardian in advance, the decision 
of who would raise your child if you can’t is ultimately 
left to a judge who doesn’t know you or 
your family dynamics.

Instead, naming short-term and long-term guardians 
for your kids ensures they are always cared 
for by peo-ple you know and trust. 

And, if your kids are off at college, you cannot 
rely on the fact that you know they’d want you 
to have access to their medical records and financial 
accounts if something happened to them. The 
hospital or banks require official legal documents 
for you to get access if needed. 

Comprehensive Protection for Your Child(ren)

To make sure your kids are always protected and 
cared for by people you trust, it’s essential to create 
a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan. A Kids 
Protection Plan – legal planning for your minor 
kid(s) – enables you to name short-term temporary 
guardians who have immediate authority to 
care for your children in an emergency and long-
term permanent guardians who can raise your 
children if you are no longer able. 

A Kids Protection Plan also equips you with emergency 
ID cards which contain instructions for 
first re-sponders to contact your child’s guardian 
if you’re in an accident so they can travel to be 
with your child right away. Plus, all caregivers, 
like babysitters and nannies, are provided with 
precise instructions on how to reach your guardians, 
and that everyone involved in your plan has 
the necessary legal documents on hand to ensure 
a smooth process if the need for a guardian arises. 

In this way, not only have you legally named 
guardians for your kids, but you’ve created an entire 
safety plan to ensure they are always cared for 
in the way you’d want in any situation.

And for your college-bound kids, it means having 
young adult planning documents in place like 
Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives 
that allow you to access your kids’ accounts or 
make medical decisions for them if they become 
incapacitated by illness or injury. 

To your health, wealth, and family legacy,


Marc Garlett, Esq.

Cali Law Family Legacy Matters

www.caliLaw.com

626.355.4000

This material was created for educational and informational purposes only 
and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking 
legal or other advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be 
obtained on your own, separate from this educational material.

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