Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 21, 2019

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 21, 2019 


SENIOR HAPPENINGS


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …. September Birthdays

Clem Bartolai, Pat Hall, Donna Anderson, Teresa Chaure, Cathy Gunther, Esther Macias, 
Sheila Pierce, Nancy Sue Shollenberger, Patti O’Meara, Judie Cimino, Mary Steinberg, Geri 
Wright, Parvin Dabiri, Denise Reistetter and Nehama Warner. 

 * 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, August 14th 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.

August Craft with Lawren—August 19th 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

Come on into the Hart Park House Senior Center and create one of a kind tea cup bird feeders. Paint a design of your 
desire or use one of several stencils that will be available for use. Then we will glue the two sections together and attach a 
chain or twin to hang from your favorite tree or display at your favorite outdoor seating area. 

8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Senior Cinema - 1st & 3rd Wednesday Beginning at 1:00 p.m. 


SEPTEMBER EXCURSION 

Los Angeles County Fair (Pomona) September 18, 2019 $10.00 

10:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Maximum 47 Participants 

• Level of Walking: High 

• Participants should bring money for lunch and souvenirs (optional)… 

• Must be 60 years or older • Must present I.D. at the gate. 

The Los Angeles County Fair is an annual event, one of the largest county fairs in all the U.S. Fair 
attendance has topped one million people every year with the exception of 1948. It is the 4th largest 
in the country serving as the premiere destination for visitors to engage in all kinds of activities 
including rides, animal shows, sumptuous food, music, concerts, and much more. 

***Resident and non-resident registration Now Open *** 

Last day to register is Monday, September 16, 2019.


Cremation: 
An Affordable Way to 
Go

Dear Savvy Senior,:

How much does cremation cost and how can I find 
a good deal in my area? I would like to get a simple, basic cremation that doesn’t cost me, or my family, 
a lot of money.

Frugal Senior

 

Dear Frugal:

Cremation costs can vary widely. Depending on your location, the provider and the services you 
request, cremation can range anywhere from $500 to $7,500 or more. But that’s a lot cheaper than 
a full-service funeral and cemetery burial that averag-es nearly $11,000 today. Here are some tips 
to help you get a good deal. 

 Shop Around

Because prices can vary sharply by provider, the best way to get a good price on a simple “no frills” 
cremation is to call several funeral homes in your area (most fu-neral homes provide cremation 
services) and compare prices.

 

When you call, ask them specifically how much they charge for a “direct crema-tion,” which is 
the basic option and the least expensive. With direct cremation, there’s no embalming, formal 
viewing or funeral. It only includes the essentials: picking up the body, completing the required 
paperwork, the cremation itself and providing ashes to the family.

 

If your family wants to have a memorial service, they can have it at home or your place of worship 
after the cremation, in the presence of your remains.

 

If you want additional services beyond what a direct cremation offers, ask the fu-neral home for 
an itemized price list that covers the other service costs, so you know exactly what you’re getting. 
All providers are required by law to provide this.

 

To locate nearby funeral homes, look in your local yellow pages, or Google “crema-tion” or “funeral” 
followed by your city and state. You can also get good infor-mation online at Parting.com, 
which lets you compare prices from funeral provid-ers in your area based on what you want. 

 

Or, if you need more help contact your nearby funeral consumer alliance program (see Funerals.
org/local-fca or call 802-865-8300 for contact information). These are volunteer groups located in 
most regions around the country that offer a wide range of information and prices on local funeral 
and cremation providers.

 

Pricey Urns

The urn is an item you need to be aware of that can drive up cremation costs. Fu-neral home urns 
usually cost around $100 to $300, but you aren’t required to get one. 

 Most funeral homes initially place ashes in a plastic bag that is inserted into a thick cardboard 
box. The box is all you need if you intend to have your ashes scat-tered. But if you want something 
to display, you can probably find a nice urn or comparable container online. Walmart.com and 
Amazon.com for example, sells urns for under $50. Or, you may want to use an old cookie jar or 
container you have around the house instead of a traditional urn.

 

Free Cremation

Another option you may want to consider that provides free cremation is to donate your body to 
a university medical facility. After using your body for research, they will cremate your remains 
for free (some programs may charge a small fee to transport your body to their facility), and either 
bury or scatter your ashes in a lo-cal cemetery or return them to your family, usually within a year 
or two.

 To find a medical school near you that accepts body donations, the University of Florida maintains 
a directory at Anatbd.acb.med.ufl.edu/usprograms.

 Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visitSavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior”book.

SENIOR CINEMA - 1st & 3rd Wednesday 1:00 pm

September 4th “Men In Black, International ” PG-13; 1 hr. 54 min.

The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In 
this new adventure, they tackle their biggest threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black 
organization.

September 18th “Breakthrough” PG; 1 hr. 57 min.

After a 14-year-old falls into a frozen Missouri Lake, his adoptive parents 
refuse to give up hope on their son, lying unconscious in a hospital bed. The 
boy’s mother prays intensely and inspires others to pray for him too, as she asks God for a 
miracle in this true story.


MEALS - ON - WHEELS PROGRAM

The Home Delivered Meals Program provides healthy meals to homebound Seniors 60 and above. Seven 
frozen meals, milk, bread and fruit are included and delivered once a week. $3 Donation per meal is 
suggested but remains completely anonymous and voluntary. Clients must be eligible and we invite you 
to contact YWCA Intervale Senior Services at 626-214-9467. SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT 
NOTICE SUGGESTED DONATION $3.00 1% LOW FAT MILK INCLUDED

OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder


Everywhere I look these days 
people are obsessed with age. 
More products are sold today to make you look 
younger than anything else. Everybody desires to 
look younger than what they actually are. I think 
that is rather hypocritical.

Just saying.

It seems to me that nobody is happy with the way 
they are. When you are young, you want to be old 
and then when you get old you want to be young. 
Nobody is happy being what they are at the time.

The problem with me is that not all my clocks are 
ticking at the same time. Things seem to just creep 
up on me without me being aware of any of it. For 
one, I did not know I was old.

It dawned on me this past week when I was sitting 
in my chair in the middle of the afternoon. I 
had no inspiration to get out of the chair and go 
do something. I was just feeling a little tired. You 
know, sometimes it is important just to chill out 
for a little bit.

Not everybody thinks this. The Gracious Mistress 
of the Parsonage has a different view of all this.

As I said, I was just chilling in my chair when my 
wife walked by, stopped in front of me, put both 
hands on her hips and stared at me for a moment 
giving me that look. Then she said, “I guess you’re 
getting old, aren’t you?”

With that, she whirled around and walked away, 
leaving me to my own thoughts. Nothing is scarier 
in the whole world than to be left with your own 
thoughts. However, as I thought about this, certain 
things seemed to come to the surface.

I did appear to be “old,” whatever that may entail. It 
is funny how people use words and they mean different 
things to different people at different times.

I never thought of myself as “old,” but then, my 
wife would never lie to me. If she thinks I am get-
ting old, well, I must be getting old.

Then I chuckled to myself. I like to keep my chuckles 
to myself for a variety of reasons. As I thought 
about me being old and my wife recognizing that I 
am old, it dawned on me that she is old-er than me. 
Now please, do not let her know I let this slip out of 
the bag. But, if I’m old, what does that make her?

You did not hear it from me, but I had a nice 
chuckle as I thought about this whole scenario 
of be-ing old. Being the gentleman that I am, and 
a great lover of life, I will never bring this to her 
atten-tion. If she finds out that she is old, she will 
never learn this information from me. I may be 
old, but my goal is to get older.

Right after this little incident, I walked into a McDonald’s 
restaurant to get some coffee. I prefer to 
keep certain things to myself and my age is one 
of them. I cannot hide my good looks; it is all out 
there in the open for everybody to see. But my age 
is something a little different. I try to keep that to 
myself.

“Are you a senior citizen?” The waitress behind the 
counter asked chipperly.

At first, this really irritated me. What business is 
it of her with regards to my age? I was just about 
ready to ask her what her age was when she 
changed the whole conversation.

“If you are a senior citizen your coffee is only $.80.” 
With that she smiled quite gingerly.

That puts age in a very different perspective for me. 
Normally, coffee is $1.39, but for senior citi-zens, it 
is only $.80. A lot of things I am not very proficient 
at, but arithmetic is not one of them. If I would admit 
to this young lady that I was a senior citizen, I 
could save $.59. I do not know about anybody else, 
but $.59 is $.59!

“Why, yes,” I muttered, “I am a senior citizen.”

“Oh dear,” she giggled, “you sure do not look like a 
senior citizen to me.”

Now, I do not know if she really meant that or not 
but allow me to repeat myself, $.59 is $.59!

I have never thought of myself as old, just older. 
And, as a friend of mine used to say, “I plan to get 
as old as I possibly can get.”

Getting old has many benefits and $.59 is only the 
beginning.

My great objective from this time on is to cash in 
on as much Senior Citizen benefits as I can get. After 
all, $.59 is $.59! And, if I get a cup of coffee every 
day, I will save $215.35 in the year, eve-ry year. 
Who would have thought that getting old would 
pay such rich dividends?

There is a strange anomaly that most people do not 
want to get old but then they do not want to die 
either. The only remedy for not getting old is…

It is not getting old that is the problem, it is not discovering 
the real foundation of life which is none 
other than Jesus Christ.

“The glory of young men is their strength: and 
the beauty of old men is the gray head” (Proverbs 
20:29).

Getting old is not for sissies. It takes a real man to 
get old.

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.

I WASN’T BORN OLD IT JUST HAPPENED 
THAT WAY

USC TROJAN AFFILIATES POP UP SALE

USC Trojan Affiliates invites the community to attend its second annual 
USC Merchandise Pop Up Sale on Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 929 Buena 
Vista Street, South Pasadena, from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. 

A wide assortment of merchandise will be available at very discounted prices. 
There will be clothing, items for the home and garden, and collectibles 
available. 

 For further information contact Aleta Blanc at 

aleta.blanc@gmail.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