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 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 24, 2024 


SENIOR HAPPENINGS

DISCOVER YOUR IDEAL ASSISTED 

LIVING COMMUNITY WITH SAFE PATH 
FOR SENIORS

Are you or a loved one considering senior living? Safe Path 
for Seniors offers a FREE service to simplify your search. 
Our expert advisor will provide per-sonalized guidance, 
connecting you with the perfect assisted living community 
tailored to your needs and budget. With an extensive network 
and cost-effective options, we ensure peace of mind 
during this transition.

Why Safe Path for Seniors?

*Personalized Support: We understand unique requirements. * Extensive Network: Find communities that 
suit your preferences. *Budget-Friendly: Discover cost-effective solutions. * Streamlined Process: Save 
time with our seamless placement. *Compassion and Care: Your well-being is our priority.

 Let us be your trusted partner. Call (626) 999-6913 or visit www.safepathforseniors.com for a FREE consultation. 
Begin a comfortable, fulfilling senior living journey with Safe Path for Seniors.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS*

Tracy Verhoeven, Beatrice DaRe, Catherine Adde, Hilda Pittman, Anne-
Marie Stockdale, Susan Henderson, Allie Attay, Ursula El-Tawansy, ladys 
Moser, Sylvia Lorhan, Ana Ptanski, Winifred Swanson , Janet Gillespie, 
Marian DeMars, Vickie Vernon, Mary Beth Knox, Sharon Lefler.

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

 


PAPER QUILL HEART CRAFT – Monday, February 26th beginning at 
1:0pm. All materials will be provided and space is limited, please call to 
reserve your spot.

 

REAL ESTATE PLANNING – Come listen to a panel of expert professionals 
who support seniors and their families with their housing and real estate needs. 
Tuesday, February 13th from 1:30pm-2:30pm. Light snacks and beverages will 
be served. Reserve your spot today!

 

SENIOR CINEMA – Wednesday, February 21st, La La Land.

 

HULA & POLYNESIAN DANCE – Thursday 10:00am-11:00am in the 
Memorial Park pavilion and Friday 10:00am-11:00am in the Hart Park House.


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

ICE CREAM SOLVES A LOT OF MY PROBLEMS

Like everybody else, I face 
problems almost every day. 
Or maybe I should say, my 
problem faces me.

Every Monday, when I get up, I say to myself, 
“How many problems will I have this week? 
How many will I solve?” Unfortunately, 
myself never replies back.

Problems are part of life, but it’s tough for me 
to get used to problems. Every time I almost 
solve one problem, two or three new ones 
pop up. There are times when I hesitate to get 
up on a Monday morning.

Recently, I discovered something related to 
my problems. No matter my problems or 
where they come from, I have discovered that 
a bowl of ice cream solves most of them.

This is a recent discovery for me. I only wish I 
would’ve known it 50 years ago. Since I know 
it now, I will use it for my benefit. The more 
problems I have, the more ice cream I need.

Discovering that ice cream is my comfort 
food has really made a lot of difference in my 
life. And it has taken me quite a while to get 
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage to 
understand this about me.

She knows much about me, even more than I 
know about myself. But this one thing about 
ice cream is relatively new, and she hesitates 
to acknowledge it.

Whenever a problem pops up, I usually get 
frustrated and bent out of shape trying to 
figure out how to deal with it. Sometimes I do 
figure it out, but more often, I do not. Then 
I discovered something that has changed my 
attitude for all time.

That discovery is that ice cream is a way of 
helping me deal with a problem that I might 
have. Oh boy, this has been a learning curve 
for me.

I discovered this not too long ago when I 
faced a problem I just didn’t know how to 
take. I was driving down the street when I 
noticed a relatively new ice cream store on 
my right side. Looking at it, I thought to 
myself, “What will it hurt if I stop and have 
some ice cream?”

I pulled into the parking lot, walked over, 
entered the store, and ordered some ice 
cream. I looked at the menu for a while to 
order the right ice cream. I saw some mint 
chocolate chip ice cream on the menu. I 
haven’t had mint chocolate chip ice cream, 
for I can’t remember how long ago. So I 
ordered it, took it to the table, sat down, and 
began working on it.

I was only three bites in when it finally 
occurred to me that I wasn’t even thinking 
about my problem at that time. All I was 
thinking about was how delicious this ice 
cream was. This mint chocolate chip ice 
cream was so delicious I couldn’t think of 
anything else.

When I finished my mint chocolate chip 
ice cream dish, I couldn’t remember my 
problem. Unfortunately, when I got in my car 
and started driving away, the problem finally 
came back to me. But when it did, it didn’t 
seem as serious as it did before the ice cream. 
Something had happened.

It’s not every day that I learn something new 
about myself, but this was one of those days.

I don’t know how many kinds of ice cream 
there are, but I have worked it out so that 
every problem I face is associated with some 
flavor of ice cream.

The harder the problem, the darker the ice 
cream. If I have vanilla ice cream, that means 
I have a very easy problem to solve. But if I 
have a really difficult problem, I must have 
chocolate fudge ice cream.

When I got home that evening, I updated 
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage on 
my discovery.

“Guess what I learned about myself today,” I 
said with a big smile.

Looking at me, she said, “I give up; what did 
you learn about yourself today that I don’t 
already know?”

Clearing my throat, I said, “I have learned 
that I need ice cream to deal with any 
problem that comes my way.”

“Well,” she said sarcastically, “that’s one 
good excuse to get your ice cream.” “Oh, no,” 
I said enthusiastically, “I really mean that ice 
cream helps me solve my problems.”

I tried to explain to her that every flavor of ice 
cream helps me solve a particular problem. 
I’m not sure she believed me, but I was going 
to prove that that was true.

Later that evening, after supper, we watched 
TV in the living room, and then she went 
out into the kitchen. When she returned, 
she had a bowl of chocolate fudge ice cream, 
and looking at me, she said, “I’m not sure if 
this is chocolatey enough to fix your problem 
tonight.”

Munching on my ice cream I thought of a 
Bible verse. Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful 
for nothing; but in every thing by prayer 
and supplication with thanksgiving let 
your requests be made known unto God. 
And the peace of God, which passeth all 
understanding, shall keep your hearts and 
minds through Christ Jesus.”

Nobody can live without problems. That’s 
just life. But, as a Christian, I have a special 
resource called prayer. My prayer connects 
me with God’s peace “which passeth all 
understanding.”

There is no problem that in anyway 
compromises God’s peace that He has for me.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the 
Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 
e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.
jamessnyderministries.com.


HOW TO DIVIDE YOUR PERSONAL 
POSSESSIONS WITHOUT 
DIVIDING THE FAMILY

Dear Savvy Senior:

Do you have any suggestions on divvying up my personal possessions to my kids after I’m gone 
without causing hard feelings or conflict? I have a lot of jewelry, art, family heirlooms and antique 
furniture, and four grown kids that don’t always see eye-to-eye on things. 

Conflicted Parent

Dear Conflicted:

Divvying up personal possessions among adult children or other loved ones can often be a tricky 
task. Deciding who should get what without showing favoritism, hurting someone’s feelings or 
causing a feud can be difficult, even for close-knit families who enter the process with the best 
of intentions. Here are a few tips to consider that can help you divide your stuff with minimal 
conflict. 

Sweating the Small Stuff

For starters, you need to be aware that it’s usually the small, simple items of little monetary value 
that aren’t mentioned in your will that cause the most conflicts. This is because the value we 
attach to the small personal possessions is usually sentimental or emotional, and because the 
simple items are the things that most families fail to talk about. 

Family battles can also escalate over whether things are being divided fairly by monetary value. 
So, for items of higher value like your jewelry, antiques and art, consider getting an appraisal to 
assure fair distribution. To locate an appraiser in your area, try ISA-appraisers.org, Appraisers.
org or AppraisersAssociation.org.

Dividing Fairly

The best solution for passing along your personal possessions is for you to go through your house 
with your kids or other heirs either separately or all at once to find out which items they would 
like to inherit and why. They may have some emotional attachment to something you’re not 
aware of. If more than one child wants the same thing, you’ll have to make the ultimate decision. 

Then you need to sit down and make a list of who gets what on paper, signed, dated and referenced 
in your will. You can revise it anytime you want. You may also want to consider writing an 
additional letter or create an audio or video recording that further explains your intentions. 

You can also specify a strategy for divvying up the rest of your property. Here are some popular 
methods that are fair and reasonable: 

Take turns choosing: Use a round-robin process where your kids take turns choosing the items 
they would like to have. If who goes first becomes an issue, they can always flip a coin or draw 
straws. Also, to help simplify things, break down the dividing process room-by-room, versus 
tackling the entire house. To keep track of who gets what, either make a list or use adhesive dots 
with a color assigned to each person to tag the item. 

Have a family auction: Give each person involved the same amount of play money or use virtual 
points or poker chips to bid on the items they want. 

Use online resources: For families who want help or live far apart, there are web-based resources 
like FairSplit.com that can assist with the dividing process. 

For more tips, see “Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?” at YellowPiePlate.umn.edu. This is 
a resource created by the University of Minnesota Extension Service that offers a free video and 
detailed workbook for $12.50 that gives pointers to help families discuss property distribution 
issues and lists important factors to keep in mind that can help you avoid or manage conflict. 

It’s also very important that you discuss your plans in advance with your kids so they can know 
ahead what to expect. Or you may even want to start distributing some of your items now, while 
you are still alive. 

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.

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