Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 29, 2023

MVNews this week:  Page A:13

13

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 29, 2023 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS


ASSISTED LIVING OR NURSING HOME?

There are many myths about Assisted Living being like 
Nursing Homes. This is not true at all. Nursing facilities 
are for those with chronic health issues who require care 
around the clock from medical professionals. 

In Assisted Living, one will get the support as needed, 
such as getting help with showering, grooming, and 
dressing. Again, these services are based on the seniors 
needs.

There are many reasons in working with us. At Safe Path 
for Seniors, we will assess the senior and depending on their care needs and budget, make recommendations. 
For example, we may suggest that the right fit is a Board and Care Home (normally a 6-bedroom house) as 
opposed to an Assisted Living Community or a Memory Support Facility. You will work with an experienced 
agent who 

knows the industry well and will give you recommendations. The good news is that there is no cost for this 
service.

If you have any questions about placing a loved one, visit www.safepathforseniors.com or call Steve at 
626-999-6913


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …APRIL Birthdays*

Howard Rubin, Anita Hardy, Hattie Harris, Wendy Senou, Mary Harley, Bette 
White,Freda Bernard, Beth Copti, Terri Cummings, Marilyn Diaz, Virginia 
Elliott, Elma Flores, Betty Jo Gregg, Stuart Tolchin, Barbara Lampman, Betty 
Mackie, Elizabeth Rassmusen, Maria Reyes, Marian DeMars, Anne Schryver, 
Chrisine Bachwansky, Colleen McKernan, Sandy Swanson, Hank Landsberg, 
Ken Anhalt, Shannon Vandevelde * To add your name to this distinguished list, please 
call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required v

SENIOR CLUB Every Saturday at Noon Hart Park House

Open to all seniors 50+ Fun - Games - And More! Call Mark at 626-355-3951 

DOMINOES TRAIN GAME

1st & 3rd Wednesdays 11:00 am— 12:30 pm Hart Park House

The object of the game is for a player to play all the tiles from their hand onto one or 
more trains, emanating from a central hub or “station”. Call Lawren with questions 
that you may have.

TEA AND TALK BOOK CLUB

Wednesday, 4/12 and 4/26 9:00 am Hart Park House

Tea and Talk, which meets twice a month to discuss the fun, suspense, intrigue, 
love and so much more that each selection will have in store!

HULA AND POLYNESIAN DANCE

 BEGINNERS - Every Thursday 10-11:00 am

 INTERMEDIATE Every Friday 10-11:00 am

Bring a lei, your flower skirt or just your desire to dance! Hula in the Park is back 
and waiting for you to join in on all the fun! Memorial Park Covered Pavilion.

CHAIR YOGA

Every Monday and Wednesday 10-10:45 am

Please join us for some gentle stretching, yoga, balance exercise and overall relaxation 
with Paul. Classes are ongoing and held in the Memorial Park Covered 
Pavilion or the Hart Park House. 

SPRINGO BINGO 

Thursday, 4/20 Hart Park House 1:00 pm-2:30 pm $5

Fee includes bingo games, light lunch, & prizes! Please call 626-264-8876 or visit 
HPH to pre-register. "Must pre-register to participate" Active Adults 55+

BEST DATING APPS FOR RETIREES 


Dear Savvy Senior:

Can you recommend some good online dating 
apps or sites for retirees? I’m a 66-year-old widow 
and would like to find a new friend to spend time 
with, but don’t know where to turn.

Cautious Carol

Dear Carol:

Whether you’re interested in dating again or 
just looking for a friend to spend time with, online 
dating sites and apps have become an easy 
and convenient way for older adults to meet new 
single people without ever having to leave home.

 

And to make things even easier, most sites today 
use matchmaking algorithms that factor in 
your interests and preferences so they can steer 
you to matches that are best suited for you. Here 
are some other tips to help you get started.

Choose a site: There are dozens of different 
matchmaking websites and apps available today, 
so choosing can be a bit confusing. While 
many sites offer free trials or watered-down free 
content, finding out the price can be difficult 
until you register and provide some information. 
In general, viewing complete profiles and 
messaging potential dates will require a monthly 
fee, which can range anywhere between $10 
and $40 per month. 

Some top mainstream sites/apps that are popular 
among older adults are eHarmony.com, 
Match.com and OKCupid.com. If, however, 
you’re interested in more age specific sites, some 
great options are OurTime.com or SilverSingles.
com. 

Or if you have a specific kind of person you’d 
like to meet, there are dozens of niche sites 
like: EliteSingles.com for educated professionals; 
ChristianMingle.com for Christian singles; 
BLK-app.com for black singles; JSwipeApp.com 
for Jewish singles; and Facebook.com/dating for 
people who love Facebook.

Create a profile: When you join a matchmaking 
site, you’ll need to create a personality profile 
that reflects who you are, including recent 
photos, hobbies, interests, favorite activities and 
more. If you need some help, sites like ProfileHelper.
com can write one for you for a fee. 

Practice caution: When you register with a site 
you remain anonymous. No one gets access to 
your personal contact information until you 
decide to give it out, so be prudent to whom 
you give it. Before meeting, you should chat on 
the phone or video chat a few times, and when 
you do meet in person for the first time, meet 
in a public place or bring a friend along. And if 
someone asks for money or your financial information, 
don’t give it out. Online dating/sweetheart 
scams are rampant so be very cautious.

Be skeptical: In an effort to get more responses, 
many people will exaggerate or flat out lie in 
their profiles, or post pictures that are 10 years 
old or 20 pounds lighter. So, don’t believe everything 
you see or read. 

Make an effort: A lot of times, people – especially 
women – sit back and let others come to 
them. Don’t be afraid to make the first move. 
When you find someone you like, send a short 
note that says, “I really enjoyed your profile. I 
think we have some things in common.” Keep 
it simple.

Don’t get discouraged: If you don’t get a response 
from someone, don’t let it bother you. 
Just move on. There are many others that will 
be interested in you and it only takes one person 
to make online dating worthwhile.

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


ITS NOT A MESS UNLESS I DO IT!

When it comes to words, 
everybody has their own 
definition.

Someone says one word and another person 
thinks it's altogether something else.

For example, when someone says vegetable, 
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage 
thinks broccoli. On the other side 
of the dinner table, I think carrot cake. 
We have never been able to come together 
on this word.

I often get in trouble when at a restaurant. 
The waitress comes to take our order, 
then looks at me and asks what vegetable 
I wanted. I reply, "I'll have carrot 
cake for my vegetable today."

I then smile, knowing I was in deep 
trouble.

The waitress smiled back at me and said, 
"Okay, sir." Then went back to process 
our order.

When the order came, there on my plate 
was the vegetable of the day, a slice of 
carrot cake. I tipped that waitress rather 
generously. I love it when a plan comes 
together.

Our most significant contention with 
words is the word, "mess."

As far as I know, The Gracious Mistress 
of the Parsonage is an expert in defining 
a mess. I'm an expert when it comes to 
creating a mess.

She has everything well organized and 
in its proper place.

All you have to do is walk into her craft 
room and you will discover what a well-
organized room looks like. She has everything 
in its place and knows exactly 
where to go when she needs something.

Every time I walk into her craft room, I 
get dizzy. In that room everything has a 
place and is in its proper place. I could 
never work in that environment.

If you walk into my office, you will find 
the epitome of what a mess looks like. If I 
can't create a mess, it doesn't exist.

My wife is anti-mess and hates mess with 
a passion, and often I find her sneaking 
into my office trying to organize my 
mess.

Last week I was working on a project, 
and I needed something, so I went where 
I saw it last. Unfortunately, it was not 
there, and I could not find it. I was in 
a panic mode because I needed that for 
what I was working on.

As I was searching through my office, 
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage 
stepped in and said, "What are you looking 
for?"

I said, "It's nothing you would know anything 
about." I continued searching.

She persisted in knowing what I was 
looking for; finally, I gave in and told her 
what I was looking for.

"Oh, that," she said, "it's right over here." 
She walked over to one of the bookcases, 
pulled it out and handed it to me. I 
just looked at her, not knowing how to 
respond.

What she needs to understand is that my 
mess is an organized mess to my standards. 
Just because it isn't organized as 
she would like doesn't mean it's not organized 
in some fashion.

My definition of mess is "Making Everything 
Self-Sufficient."

I had a crazy thought, which is nothing 
new for me, to show her how important 
it is for people not to interfere with their 
space and leave their mess alone.

I found out about a project she was working 
on, and some ideas began dancing in 
my head. (Thank you Chubby Checker.) 
One question took the bow: What if? I 
thought about that for a long time and 
tried to figure out how to implement it.

She had to go away for the day with one 
of our daughters and do some shopping, 
so this was the right time to exercise my 
plan.

I went into her craft room and stood quietly 
for a few minutes to get the dizziness 
out of my head. Then, once that left, I 
began looking around to see how to set 
up my plan.

I saw a project on her desk that she was 
working on at the time.

Then I began picking up a few things 
from the table and put them in places she 
would not think of looking. It took me a 
while to work it all out, but I was diligent 
in my plan.

The next day after breakfast, we went to 
our rooms to work on our projects.

I was so eager to hear what would happen 
in The Craft Room. I heard some 
rustling around and heard someone in 
that room taking some profound sighs. 
Then I heard her say, "Where did I put 
that?"

I was so excited to hear my plan coming 
together. I went to her craft room, and 
looking in I said, "My dear, what are you 
looking for?"

She said something to the effect that I 
would not know anything about that. I 
persisted, and finally, she told me what 
she was looking for, and with a big smile, 
I said, "Oh, that's right over here." So I 
picked it up, brought it back, and laid it 
on her desk.

I smiled at her, but my smile was not reciprocated 
in any degree. It's nice when a 
mess comes together.

Thinking about this, I was reminded of 
what David said in Psalm 119:11, “Thy 
word have I hid in mine heart, that I 
might not sin against thee.”

Words are important and the most important 
word is the word of God. Hiding 
God’s word in my heart will always lead 
me in the right direction and bring me to 
that place of blessing.

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

FAMILY MATTERS


HOW NAMING GUARDIANS FOR YOUR KIDS IN 
YOUR WILL CAN LEAVE THEM AT RISK

If you are a mom or dad 
with children under the 
age of 18 at home, your 
number-one estate planning 
priority should be 
selecting and legally documenting 
both long and short-term guardians for 
your kids. Guardians are the people legally named to 
care for your children in the event something happens 
to you.

A Far Too Common Problem

If you’ve only named guardians for your children in 
your will (the standard way most estate planners do 
it), your children could be vulnerable to being taken 
out of your home and placed in the care of strangers. 
This might be temporary, while the authorities figure 
out what to do, or they could even end up being 
raised to adulthood by someone you’d never choose.

While it’s rare for something to happen to both 
parents of a minor child, it does occur, and the consequences 
are simply too severe to not take the few 
simple steps to select and legally name guardians the 
right way. Regardless of whether you own any other 
assets or wealth, it’s vital to complete this process 
immediately, so you know the ones you care about 
most—your kids—will always be in the care of people 
you’ve chosen, no matter what. 

What’s So Complicated About Naming Guardians?

Naming and legally documenting guardians for 
your kids might seem like a straightforward process, 
but it entails several complexities most people simply 
do not think about. Even lawyers with decades 
of experience typically make at least one of six mistakes 
when naming long-term legal guardians.

If you named legal guardians for your kids in your 
will—whether on your own using a do-it-yourself 
(DIY) online document service or with the help of 
another lawyer—consider each of the following scenarios 
to see if you have a blind spot in your estate 
plan that would leave your kids at risk: 

 Did you name back-up candidates in case 
your first choice of guardian is unable to serve? If so, 
how many back-ups did you name?

 If you named a married couple to serve and 
one of them is unavailable due to injury, death, or 
divorce, what happens then? Would it still be okay if 
only one of them can serve as your child’s guardian? 
And does it matter which one it is?

 What would happen if you became incapacitated 
by illness or injury and are unable to care for 
your kids? You might assume the guardians named 
in your will would automatically get custody, but did 
you know that a will only goes into effect upon your 
death and does nothing to protect your kids in the 
event of your incapacity? Have you created a guardianship 
plan that goes into effect if you become 
incapacitated?

 Do the guardians you named live far from 
your home? If so, how long would it take them to 
make it to your house to pick up your kids: a few 
hours, a few days, or even a few weeks? Who would 
care for your kids until those guardians arrive? Did 
you know that without legally binding arrangements 
for the immediate care of your children, may 
be placed in foster care until those named guardians 
arrive?

 Would your care providers know where 
to find your will and other legal documents if you 
didn’t make it home? If not, what would the authorities 
do while they tried to figure out who should care 
for your kids? 

 If you named a family who live nearby as 
guardians, what happens if they are out of town or 
otherwise can’t get to your kids right away?

 Assuming the guardians you named can immediately 
get to your home to pick up your kids, do 
they know where your will is located? How will they 
prove they are the people you wanted named as your 
children’s legal guardians if they can’t find your estate 
planning documents?

The Kids Protection Plan® 

These are just a few of the potential complications 
that can arise when naming legal guardians for your 
kids, whether in your will or as a stand-alone measure. 
And if just one of these contingencies were to 
occur, your children would needlessly suffer emotionally, 
even if just for a short period of time. 

If the idea of this is as frightening to you as it was 
to me when I discovered it, you should consider 
implementing a Kids Protection Plan® which provides 
parents of minor children with a wide array of 
legal planning tools—including legal documents to 
name short- and long-term guardians, instructions 
for those guardians, medical powers of attorney for 
your minor children, an ID card for your wallet, and 
much more—to make sure there is never a question 
about who will take care of your kids if you are in 
an accident or suffer some other life-threatening 
incident. 

Marc Garlett, Esq.

Cali Law Family Legacy Matters

www.caliLaw.com

626.355.4000

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