1010

Mountain Views-News Saturday October 4, 2025

FREE ASSISTED LIVING PLACEMENT SERVICE

 

 Discover the perfect assisted living community with 
Safe Path for Seniors. Our compassionate advisors 
specialize in assisting individuals with unique needs. 
Benefit from our extensive network and affordable 
options. Plus, we offer personalized tours to help you 
explore each community firsthand. 

Call (626) 999-6913 or visit www.safepathforseniors.
com for free assistance.

SENIOR HAPPENINGS


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! OCTOBER Birthdays*

Gloria Schauer, Janda Ferris, Darlene Traxler, Margit Johnson, Sole 
Krieg, Mary Jane Baker, Dixie Coutant, Jill Frank, Cathleen Cremins, 
,Adie Marshall, Susan Gallagher, Maggie Ellis, Gloria Giersbach, Ellen 
O’Leary, Jenny Piangenti, Anita Thompson, Linda Boehm and Angela 
Stella *

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


HOW TO GET AROUND TOWN AT ONTHEGO EXPO ON 11/13

Pasadena, CA —Are you concerned that your 
life will dramatically change when you stop driving? 
Do you already feel limited because you 
don't feel comfortable driving at night? Have you 
had to stop driving temporarily because your car 
was destroyed in the Eaton Fire or needed maintenance, 
and you realized how isolating and inconvenient it was? 

Reducing our reliance on personal vehicles can be beneficial to our stress level, save money, and 
improve the environment, but it can be difficult to navigate (pun intended). Pasadena Village, the 
nonprofit organization that supports local aging-in-place older adults, is hosting a transportation 
resource fair designed to help you consider the plethora of options for getting around town, and for 
getting what you need without getting in a car. 

Join Pasadena Village at the OntheGo Expo on Thursday, November 13 from 10-1 PM at the Robinson 
Park Recreation Center, 1081 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena. At the Expo, you will connect with 
exhibitors offering solutions to getting around town and services that can come to you, including 
Metro, Pasadena Transit, Dial-A-Ride, Home Instead, MobilityDog, and Pasadena Complete 
Streets Coalition. Those impacted by the Eaton Fire can sign up for Metro LIFE’s free ride program 
and use the Metro at no cost for life. Friendly IT volunteers will help you set up and use Metro’s 
programs, a Senior TAP card, transit schedules, rideshare apps, and more. Try out an E-bike with 
Active San Gabriel Valley, enjoy complementary refreshments, and connect with peers as we find 
solutions together to stay active and connected without using our car keys.

Learn more and register for the free OnTheGo Expo: 

www.pasadenavillage.org/events/3970-onthego-expo or call 626-765-6037. 

All who register in advance will receive a free resource bag at the event.


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

OH NO, NOT ANOTHER DAY!

IS LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE WORTH IT?

I thought got over the problems I had two weeks ago. I thought I 
stepped onto new ground and everything was going to be fine.

Very few times am I right, and this wasn't one of them.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a terrible day. Our electricity was off for over six 
hours. My printer died, and I need-ed to get a new one. A scam artist called and 
said my daughter was in prison and I needed to give him $2500 for her bail.

What a day that was. I'm still not fully over it, but I'm slowly getting away from it.

While getting over it, I experienced another terrible day. I don't believe in karma, 
but I do believe in coincidences.

It was a Sunday, and The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I did our ministry 
at an assisted living facility, and then on Sunday night, we went to an evening 
service at another church.

In the middle of the afternoon, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage got hit 
with one of her famous migraines. She has migraines, ugly headaches, and regular 
headaches several times a week. For many years, I thought I was her only headache, 
but as it turns out, I'm not her headache. I guess I'm going to have to try 
harder.

I was getting ready to go to church, and my wife said that she could not go because 
she had a terrible migraine headache.

The problem was that when I went out and got in my truck to start it, it wouldn’t 
start. The battery had died on me. There was nothing I could do to get it started.

I sat in the truck for a moment, sighed deeply, and realized that I had only one 
other option.

I went into the house and told my wife about my truck, saying I would have to 
take her sissy van to church. I'm not sure, but I think I heard her giggling as I 
walked out the door with her sissy van keys.

There is nothing I hate doing more than driving that sissy van. After all, I am a 
fully grown man and that sissy van cannot handle a real man.

To get in on the driver's side, I have to move the seat back as far as it can go. Believe 
me, it doesn't go back far enough for me. Then, I have to wiggle and wiggle 
to get into the seat behind the steering wheel. That took almost forever to get 
seated there.

The next thing to do was move the steering wheel up as far as I could get it so 
I could sit in that seat. Then I had to adjust all of the mirrors so I could see behind 
me and on each side. There are three mirrors, and each is very difficult to 
rearrange.

It took me quite a while to get everything arranged so that I could drive that sissy 
van. Finally, after quite a while of frustrating twisting and turning, I got seated behind 
the steering wheel and was ready to start up the engine. The next challenge 
was buckling the seat belt.

As I looked at the key, the thought that danced in my head was, "This battery is 
going to die on me too." Fortu-nately, that did not happen in the sissy van, which 
started up right away.

I took a deep sigh and backed out of our driveway and headed down the street 
toward the church. It's about a 20-minute drive to our church, and so I was a little 
late, but I would get there in time.

Then I got there, and discovered another problem. Getting into that sissy van was 
difficult, but now getting out was even more difficult. I couldn't get my legs out 
under the driving wheel, and it took me a while, giggling and twisting. Finally, I 
got my legs out.

I stood up, shut the door, locked it, and walked into the church.

After the service, I went out to the sissy van with a heavy heart. I couldn't let 
anybody see me wiggling and squirming, trying to get into that sissy van. I wasn't 
quite sure what to do, so I went to the sissy van and unlocked the door.

I took a deep breath, opened the door, and then wiggled and twisted my way in 
behind the steering wheel. It took several minutes for me to drag my legs in at 
their proper position. Finally, I got in my seat, started the engine, and was ready 
to go home.

With a grateful heart, I drove out of the parking lot, thankful that I got this far. 
Then I remembered that when I got home, I had to get out of that sissy van one 
more time.

It took me a few minutes to wiggle my way out of that sissy van, but I finally did.

As I recovered from that trip I thought of a Bible verse. “There hath no temptation 
taken you but such as is com-mon to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer 
you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a 
way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

There is no problem or struggle in my life that God doesn’t make a way to escape. 
Praise the Lord.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. 
Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website 
www.jamessnyderministries.com


Dear Savvy Senior,

My husband and I have been 
thinking about getting a long-
term care insurance policy, but 
we hate the idea of paying expensive 
monthly premiums for a 
policy we may never use. Is long-
term care insurance worth it?

Approaching Retirement

Dear Approaching,

There are two key factors you need to consider that can help you determine if 
purchasing a long-term care (LTC) insurance policy is a smart decision for you and 
your husband. One factor is your financial situation and second is your health history. 
Currently, around 7.5 million Americans own a policy.

Who Needs LTC Insurance?

As the cost of LTC – which includes nursing home, assisted living and in-home care 
– continues to rise, it’s important to know that most people pay for LTC either from 
personal savings or Medicaid when their savings is depleted, or through a LTC 
insurance policy.

National median average costs for nursing home care today is over $100,000 a 
year, according to the Genworth Cost of Care survey. Assisted living facilities and 
home care aides average more than $65,000/year.

While national statistics show that about 70 percent of Americans 65 and older 
will need some kind of LTC, the fact is, many people don’t need to purchase LTC 
insurance. The reasons stem from a range of factors, including the fact that relatively 
few people have enough wealth to protect to make purchasing a policy 
worthwhile.

Another important factor is that most seniors who need LTC only need it for a short 
period of time, for example, when they’re recovering from surgery. For those people, 
Medicare covers in-home health care and nursing home stays of 100 days or 
less following a hospital stay of more than 3 consecutive days.

So, who should consider buying a policy?

LTC insurance make the most sense for people who have investable assets of 
$500,000 to around $2 million that they want to protect. Anything less, and you 
will likely deplete your resources and go on Medicaid for LTC coverage. Anything 
more, and you can probably afford to pay for care yourself.

Another factor to weigh is your personal health and family health history. The two 
most common reasons seniors need extended long-term care is because of dementia 
and/or disability. And, almost half of all people who live in nursing homes 
are 85 years or older. So, what’s your family history for Alzheimer’s, stroke or some 
other disabling health condition, and do you have a family history of longevity?

You also need to factor in gender too. Because women tend to live longer than 
men, they are at greater risk of needing extended LTC.

Choosing LTC Coverage

After evaluating your situation, if you’re leaning towards buying a LTC policy, be 
aware that premiums can vary widely. According to the American Association for 
Long-Term Care Insurance, premiums for a policy bought by a couple who are 
both age 65 for a benefit pool of $165,000 each, with a 3 percent inflation rider, 
ranged from $7,137 to $8,493 a year.

You can buy LTC insurance from an insurance company or through an agent. Or 
you might also be able to buy a policy at work. Be sure to get quotes from several 
sources for the same coverage to compare prices.

There are two main types of long-term care coverage you’ll want to consider. Traditional 
LTC insurance, which is “use it or lose it.” And hybrid policies that combine 
LTC coverage with life-insurance benefits. These policies promise that if you don’t 
end up needing long-term care, your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit. 
Both types of policies require medical underwriting to qualify.

Another hybrid product to consider is an income annuity that includes a provision 
to increase your payout if you need LTC. However, the payout may not cover 
the full cost of care, and the added cost of this provision, known as a rider, can 
reduce the standard payout from the annuity.

Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, 
P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.

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