Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, July 20, 2019

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Mountain View News Saturday, July 20, 2019 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …July Birthdays*

Nina Bartolai, Mary Lou Caldwell, Louise Neiby, Betty Hansen, Christine Durfort, 
Shahrzad Azrani, Jeanne Borgedahl, Janet Cox, Dorothy Montgomery, Bess 
Pancoska, Janet Swanson, Linda Thunes, Barbara Watson, Pat Alcorn, Karma Bell, 
Alice Clark, Dorothy Jerneycic, and Betty Dos Remedios

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

HART PARK HOUSE MONTHLY PROGRAMS: 

Unless listed differently, all activities are at the Hart Park House (Senior Center) 222 W. 
Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre

Hawaiian & Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday Morning from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. 
Join the class with Instructor Barbara Dempsey as she leads you in the art of Hula!

Bingo Time: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00 p.m. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to play! Activity may 
be canceled if there are less than five people.

Free Blood Pressure Testing: 2nd Tuesdays Monthly from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary.

Brain Games: Every third Thursday of the month at 12:45-1:45pm Join us for Scattergories, a creative thinking game by 
naming objects within a set of categories; or Jenga, a block-building challenge that keeps you stacking and bal-ancing your 
tower. Everyone is welcome, and no experience is needed. A great way to strengthen your mind and make new friends... 
Games are facilitated by Senior Volunteers. Will Resume in September 2019

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, July 25th from 10:30 a.m. - Noon. Attorney Lem Makupson is available for legal 
consultation. Specializing in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates and Injury. Please call the Hart Park House for an 
appointment, 626-355-5278 ext. 704.

Senior Club: Meets Saturdays, Weekly at Hart Park House Brown Bag Lunch, great company and bingo at 11:30 a.m.

Chair Yoga: Mondays & Wednesdays 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. with Paul Hagen. Classes include Yoga and balance exercises. All 
ability levels are encouraged and welcomed!

Birthday Celebration: Every 2nd Thursday Monthly at the Hart Park House. Share free birthday cake and ice cream 
kindly provided by the Senior Community Commission!

Game Day: Every Thursday Monthly 12:00 Noon come into the Hart Park House and join a lively poker game with 
friends!

Free Strength Training Class: Fridays 12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. with Lisa Brandley.light weights, low impact resistance 
training and body conditioning. Class equipment provided.

Gentle Yoga for Active Seniors: Every Monday & Wednesday from 8:15 - 9:45 a.m. with Andrea Walsh at the Hart Park 
House. Classes include complete floor relaxation, standing and floor postures, balancing, and featuring extended 
meditations on the fourth Wednesdays of the month! Call (626)-355-5278 for more information.

JULY EXCURSION

AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC (Long Beach) July 17, 2019

Level of Walking: HIGH

Lunch will be on your own and spending money optional. 

 Registration Now Open through Thursday, July 11, 2019

 *Maximum - 35 participants


SENIOR CINEMA - 2nd & 4th Wednesday 1:00 pm

 July 24th “A Dog’s Way Home” PG; 

 1 hr. 50 36 min.

As a puppy, Bella finds her way into the arms of Lucas, a young man who 
gives her a good home. When Bella becomes separated from Lucas, she 
soon finds herself on an epic 400-mile journey to reunite with her beloved 
owner. Along the way, the lost but spirited dog touches the lives of an 
orphaned mountain lion, a down-on-his-luck veteran and some friendly 
strangers who happen to cross her path.


FINDING AN ALTERNATIVE TO AARP

Dear Savvy Senior:

Can you recommend any conservative membership 
organizations for older adults that offer discounts 
too? AARP is way too liberal for my liking. Discount 
Seeking Conservative

Dear Conservative:

There are actually quite a few senior advocacy organizations out there promoting themselves as 
conservative alternatives to AARP, and many of them offer membership benefit too. Here’s what you 
should know.

Anti-AARP

While AARP, with a membership of around 38 million, is by far the biggest and most powerful 
advocacy group for people age 50 and older, there are millions of older Americans that don’t like 
or agree with their stance on various issues. Many believe AARP leans too far to the left despite its 
stated nonpartisan nature.

For seniors that disagree with AARP, there are other conservative leaning groups that you can join 
that may better represent your views. And, many of them offer their members discounts on things 
like travel, insurance, healthcare and more. Here are several to check into.

60 Plus: American Association of Senior Citizens (60plus.org): Established in 1992, this nonprofit 
group was founded to lobby for issues it holds dear, namely free enterprise, fewer taxes and less 
Government. Their main priority is to end the federal estate tax and preserve social security. Membership 
fees run $12, $24 or $48 per year, or $299 for a lifetime membership. They also offer a bevy 
of discounts on travel and entertainment, cable, Internet and satellite services, dental, vision and 
hearing packages, roadside assistance and more.

American Seniors Association (AmericanSeniors.org): Founded in 2005 for people age 50 and older, 
this conservative organization is built on five foundations, which includes rebuilding national values, 
Social Security reform, Medicare reform, tax code reform and control of government overspending. 
Fees to join run $15 for one year, $25 for two or $35 for three years, and members receive access to 
a variety of benefit on travel, home and auto insurance, security services, health and wellness (medical, 
dental, vision and hearing) and more.

Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC.us): With more than one million members, this 
organization was started in 2007 for people 50 and older. Their mission is to help seniors fight high 
taxes, reduce excessive government involvement in our day-to-day lives, and preserve American 
values. They also offer a host of benefits on home, health and auto insurance, travel, vision and dental 
care, prescription drugs, retail savings, roadside assistance and more. Membership fees run $16 per 
year, or less if you join for multiple years.

The Seniors Coalition (Senior.org): Founded in 1990, this conservative public advocacy group claims 
to have around four million supporters. Their key issues are to protect Social Security benefits, stop 
Social Security payments to illegal aliens from Mexico, eliminate the death tax, and reform the Social 
Security COLA system. TSC offers very few membership benefits. Annual fees run $10 for one 
person per, or $13 per couple and you can join at any age.

 

Some other senior membership organizations to consider that offer discounts include the non-for-
profit American Senior Benefits Association (ASBAonline.org), and the conservative leaning National 
Association of Conservative Seniors (NAOCS.us), and Christian Seniors Association (CSAbenefits.
site-ym.com).

 

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.

OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder


AFTER ALL, IT IS MONDAY 

I do not consider myself lazy. I think of myself as an Energy Conservative. I am 
saving my energy for sometime down the road when I may need it, and who 
knows when.

This, however, is not the opinion of the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. If 
there is a lazy bone in her, it has sprouted wings and flown away a long time ago. 
She works hard, which I do not mind, except she expects me to keep up with her.

I enjoy slouching around, busily engaged in doing nothing. I have become an expert in this, which has 
become more than a hobby with me. Occasionally my wife will say, “What are you doing right now?”

To which I answer, “Nothing.” Her response is, “I thought so. Could you come and help me now?”

I guess everybody has their own definition of “nothing.” To be sure, my wife’s definition is not the 
same as mine. At this point, I am not quite sure who has the right definition.

Some people have the idea that if you are doing nothing, you are being lazy. I like to contradict that. 
Nothing and lazy are two different things. Don’t ask me the difference because I’m not quite sure I 
could explain the difference, I’m just too lazy.

The best day of the week for me to be lazy is Monday. Weekends are always busy with church work 
and such that Monday is a wonderful time to chill out and unwind. Over the years, I have be-come an 
expert in this weekend recovery exercise.

I guess everybody is lazy to some degree. Again, it depends on your definition of lazy. Everybody 
needs an opportunity to relax a little and get ready for the next activity.

The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage has a different idea about this. If you are up and it is day-light, 
you have to be working and doing something. “You can sleep tonight when you go to bed,” is one of 
her famous sayings.

There are times when I wish I were living in Alaska, where they have about 67 days of night. Can you 
imagine sleeping for 67 days and actually doing nothing?

My wife would like the other time of the year in Alaska, where they have sunlight 24 hours a day.

A person should regulate his life and not be overwhelmed with anything, particularly work activity.

I’m not against work at all. I just do not want my work to interfere with those lazy moments so pre-
dominant in my life. I schedule my work around my laziness as much as possible.

After all, what is wrong with being lazy? I know, as my wife has reminded me, that there is work that 
must be done. Yet, there are times when we need to live above our work schedule. Or, maybe live 
below it, I’m not sure.

I try to take Monday’s off and schedule nothing that day. I’m not always successful, I will admit. But 
it is not because I do not try.

We had come through six or seven weeks of work every day. Just when I wanted to take a day off 
something came up and I had a cancel my day off and focus on the work before me.

It was a Thursday afternoon and I came into the house, sat down in my chair and in a few moments 
found myself sleeping. Actually, my wife found me sleeping.

“You’re not sleeping?” she asked.

It startled me and I woke up and saw her there and gently said, “No, my dear. I was praying for you 
and the kids and the grandkids.”

She smiled very graciously and said, “Okay, that’s quite all right, keep praying.”

I was so excited that I got something over on her that I could not go back to sleep. I was so glad that 
it worked. I plan to use that ploy in the future.

Several weeks ago, we had a very busy weekend. Not only church programs but also other activi-ties 
that took up most of Saturday. Come Monday morning I was completely worn out. I said to myself as 
I got out of bed, “I’m going to practice my lazy exercises all day today.”

I went out, sat in my chair and just relaxed. It felt so good. Being lazy has a good feeling to it at times. 
Of course, only people who work hard can appreciate those lazy moments. I was appreciat-ing my 
lazy moment.

I then heard the front door open and in came my wife who had been shopping for groceries. She 
looked at me and said, “You’re not still in that chair doing nothing, are you?”

I could not use the prayer strategy because my eyes were open watching TV. Looking at her with a 
grin all over my face I said, “I’m exercising my lazy rights. After all, it is Monday.”

She smiled back, went into the kitchen and began putting away the groceries. I leaned back in my 
chair and said to myself, “Isn’t lazy something special!”

It was then that I thought about a verse in Genesis. “And on the seventh day God ended his work 
which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made” (Genesis 
2:2). Even God ended his work and rested one day during the week. He is my example.

Dr. James L. Snyder, pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, lives with the Gracious Mistress of the 
Parsonage in Ocala, FL. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web 
site is www.whatafellowship.com.


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