Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, January 18, 2020

10

 Mountain Views News Saturday, January 18, 2020 

 
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 
From: 10:30am - 1:00pm 
Lunch & Learn at The Kensington 
245 West Sierra Madre Blvd. 
Sierra Madre, CA 91024 
Please R.S.V.P. via email to 
SSciurba@KensingtonSL.com 
Or by calling 626.355.5700 
Recognizing & Understanding the Progression 
of Dementia Using the Senior Gems® 
Presented by Certified Educator Nathan Kirschenbaum 
Senior Helpers® Dementia Care Workshop Series 
©2019 SH Franchising, LLC. Senior Gems® is based on GEMS, techniques, strategies, and 
overall approach to care which was created and developed by Teepa Snow, Positive 
Approach, LLC teepasnow.com GEMS and POSITIVE APPROACH are Trademarks of 
Positive Approach, LLC. SENIOR GEMS® is a registered trademark of Senior Helpers. 
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SENIOR HAPPENINGS


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …January Birthdays*

 Gerald Day, Mary Tassop, Judy Webb-Martin, John Johnson, Mary Bickel, Marlene 
Enmark, Shirley Wolf, Ross Kellock, Ruth Wolter, Sue Watanabe, Sandy Thistlewaite, 
Bobbi Rahmanian, Fran Syverson, Shirley Wolff, Judy Zaretzka and Becky Evans. 

 * 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. 

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, December 18th 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.


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

PLEASE DON'T MESS WITH MY PEANUT BUTTER 

Normally, I'm a rather calm, cool and collected person. Actually, my creditors 
trying to collect things from me, mostly money, are responsible for this 
and I have been officially collected. If I could only collect my thoughts, but the pieces are too 
small and too few.

Anybody who knows me knows I am not easily rattled by anything. I let the chips fall where 
they may because I know from whence they came. I am not susceptible to the various rumors 
making their way around on a regular basis.

All the debate about global warming, for example, has not in the least disturbed my personal 
serenity. Some say the earth is getting warmer while others insist it is getting cooler. Who in 
the world are you to believe? One scientist frantically reported that if we do not do something 
quickly in 1500 years, the earth is going to get 10° warmer than it is right now. One can 
only hope he was not a Rhodes Scholar.

Then there was the hullabaloo about how harmful chocolate was to a person only to be discovered 
later that it has marvelous health benefits. Pass me another bonbon.

Others took potshots at coffee. Again, it was found that a morning cup of Joe is just the thing 
to get a person on the go.

I took all of these things in the good-natured way that is typical of Yours Truly. I try not to let 
anything get my dander up. In fact, I am quite proud of the humble way in which I respond 
to all of these negativities, usually, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a bonbon in the other.

All was going well until one morning, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage rattled my 
cage. She takes great pleasure in doing something like this.

"Have you seen the trouble they are having with peanut butter?"

This caught me by surprise because I had not heard any such thing. My wife went on to explain 
that, in some cases, they were recalling certain peanut products. Personally, I know a 
few nuts that need to be recalled.

I do not mind if they fool around with global warming, and recall every car on the planet. I 
care not what they say about chocolate and coffee, but I go by one simple rule; do not mess 
with my peanut butter.

My underlying philosophy is, man shall not live by bread alone, he needs a little bit of peanut 
butter to hold it all together.

I am not sure who invented peanut butter, it might have been God himself; all I know it is the 
food of the gods. According to Wikipedia, there has never been a time in history when there 
was not some form of peanut butter.

It is one of the few essential items in this world that nobody can get along without. I can 
hardly imagine a world without this marvelous concoction, either creamy or crunchy.

There are many things I can get along without, but I cannot get along without my daily ration 
of peanut butter.

Some people have chocolate as comfort food. Some people's comfort food of choice is a bag 
of salty potato chips. Others pamper their comfort with ice cream. And I say, to each one his 
own. My comfort food is simply peanut butter, preferably crunchy.

The thing about peanut butter that is so amazing is it can be used in a variety of ways. I would 
guess that the list is all but limitless. Hardly a month goes by that I do not discover a new way 
to enjoy peanut butter.

There, of course, is the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Every thoughtful and 
loving mother starts her young brood off on nutritious and delicious peanut butter and jelly 
sandwichs. If your mother was quite like my mother, she affectionately trimmed the edges, 
which made the peanut butter all the more delightful.

Need I mention Peanut Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Fudge, Southern Peanut Butter Soup 
with Pepper Jelly, Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Candy, and a Peanut Butter and 
Chocolate Sundae?

I'm not alone in this appreciation. "To me, peanut butter is the breakfast of champions!" 
opined Greg Louganis, Olympic Diver. And if anybody should know what a champion eats 
for breakfast, he should.

Peanut butter can be used for breakfast, lunch and supper. And for all those snacks in between.

Those who know the history of our country will remember that two Presidents of the United 
States were peanut farmers [Jefferson and Carter]. I am not sure of this, but I think it helped 
them deal with the nuts at Washington.

Of all the ways to enjoy peanut butter, there is one I prefer above all else. That is simply a nice 
tablespoon of peanut butter right out of the jar. If a tablespoon is not handy, several fingers 
will do the trick admirably.

Really, there is no wrong way to enjoy the marvelous taste of peanut butter.

Speaking of comfort food, the Bible has the perfect recipe. "Yea, though I walk through the 
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me." (Psalms 23:4).

God has a marvelous way of taking our attention away from the trials of this world and focus 
our thoughts on Him.

Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 
34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail 
jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.


HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT 
HOSPITAL FOR YOU

Dear Savvy Senior:

I need to get a hip replacement, and want to find 
a good, safe hospital to have it done in. What resources 
can you recommend for evaluating hospitals? I don’t currently have a doctor.

Shopping Around

Dear Shopping:

Most people spend more time shopping for a kitchen appliance or flat-screen TV than choosing 
a hospital. But selecting the right one can be as important as the doctor you choose. Here are 
some tips and resources to help you research the hospitals in your area.

Hospital Shopping

While you may not always have the opportunity to choose your hospital, especially in the case of 
an emergency, having a planned procedure can offer you a variety of choices.

When shopping for a hospital, the most important criteria is to choose one that has a strong 
department in treating your area of need. A facility that excels in coronary bypass surgery, for 
example, may not be the best choice for a hip replacement. Research shows that patients tend 
to have better results when they’re treated in hospitals that have extensive experience with their 
specific condition.

In order to choose a hospital that’s best for you, it is important to discuss your concerns and 
alternatives with the doctor who is treating you. Some doctors may be affiliated with several hospitals 
from which you can choose. Or, if you’ve yet to select a doctor, finding a top hospital that 
has expertise with your condition can help you determine which physician to actually choose.

Another important reason to do some research is the all too frequent occurrence of hospital 
infections, which kill around 75,000 people in the U.S. each year. So, checking your hospital’s 
infection rates and cleanliness procedures is also a smart move.

Free Researching Tools

There are a number of free online resources that can help you evaluate and compare hospitals in 
your area, including:

Medicare’s Hospital Compare (Medicare.gov/HospitalCompare): Operated by the Centers for 
Medicare and Medicaid Services, this tool has data on more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals.

Why Not The Best (WhyNotTheBest.org): Created by the Commonwealth Fund, this is a private 
foundation that provides performance data on all U.S. hospitals.

The Leapfrog Group (LeapfrogGroup.org): This national, not-for-profit organization grades 
more than 2,000 U.S. hospitals on quality and safety.

These websites use publicly available data to rate hospitals on various measures of performance 
like death rates from serious conditions such as heart failure and pneumonia, frequency of hospital-
acquired infections, patient satisfaction and more.

On these websites, you plug in your location to find hospitals in your area. You can then check to 
see how well or poorly each hospital manages patients in various conditions.

Two other good sites that can help you choose a good facility include U.S. News & World Report 
(USNews.com/best-hospitals) and Healthgrades (Healthgrades.com).

U.S News & World Report is an online publication that publishes a hospital ranking in 17 medical 
specialties like cancer, orthopedics and urology, and rates common procedures and conditions, 
such as heart bypass surgery, hip and knee replacement and COPD. They also rank hospitals 
regionally within states and major metro areas.

And Healthgrades, which is a private for-profit organization, provides free hospital ratings on 
patient safety and medical procedures, and scores hospitals using a 5-star scale. They also provide 
comprehensive information on most U.S. doctors including their education and training, 
hospital affiliations, board certification, awards and recognitions, professional misconduct, disciplinary 
action and malpractice records, office locations and insurance plans.

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.

IMPORTANCE OF COLON 
CANCER SCREENING

Learn the importance of colon cancer screening. Dr. Ken D. Nguyen, gastroenterologist will 
discuss why you should be screened, what makes you at risk and different types off screenings. 
The free presentation will take place on Tuesday, January 28 at 1:30pm, Arcadia Community 
Center, 365 Campus Drive. Arcadia Senior Services provide this health seminar in partnership 
with Methodist Hospital. If interested in attending this informative health program or for 
additional information please call Arcadia Senior Services, 626.574.5130.This program is for 
individuals age 50 and over. 

 For more information, please visit ArcadiaCA.gov or follow us on Twitter by texting DISCOVER 
to 33222:

......................................
........... (626) 574-5455..............

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