Month: March 2018

In my many years I have come to a conclusion That one useless man is a shame, Two is a law firm, And three or more is a congress…John Adams

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself….Mark Twain

AARP has an online resource you should consider bookmarking and reading regularly. It is Fraud Watch Network. There are articles about various issues including, right now, Tax ID theft and fraud. https:// www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/fraud-watchnetwork

My dear friends recently had their home remodeled. The contractor made a promise of a construction loan. Halfway through the project the contractor stated the loan was simply not an option. After much fighting (legal action) and positioning, my friends emptied their retirement accounts to settle the issue. The moral of the story – get every promise in writing. Never ever, give personal financial information in email, never! Look at http://CampbellAARP.org for more useful posts and resources.

Beginner and advanced classes for PCs, tablets, smart phones, including iPhones and iPads. Registration is March 17 from 11:00 to 12:30 Room 5. Classes start April 2, 2018. A 2-hour workshop costs $10; 4- week class $15 and 8-week class $20 plus membership fee. Senior Net Learning Center is located in the Willow Glen Community Center, 2175 Lincoln Ave., San Jose. We are a non-profit all-volunteer organization – serving the community since 1994. Go to our website snlcsj.org/willows to see list of classes with descriptions and to register online. Questions? Call Libby at 408-371-3999 or email swtlib@sbcglobal.net

Two Irish drunks are walking home after a little too much celebration on St Patrick’s Day. As they stumbled up the country road in the dark, Paddy says, “Bejeesus, Mick, we’ve stumbled into the graveyard and here’s the stone of a man lived to the age of 103!” Mick replies, “Glory be, Paddy; and was it anybody we knew?” Paddy says, “No, it was someone called ‘Miles from Dublin’.”

Paddy walked into a bar on St. Patrick’s Day and started ordering martini after martini. With each drink, he removed the olives and put them in a jar. When the jar was filled with olives and he’d finished all the drinks, Paddy started to leave. As he did so, a curious customer asked him, “Excuse me, but what was that all about?” “Nothing really,” replied Paddy, “My wife just sent me out for a jar of olives.”

Paddy’s wife is drunk and emotional after a long St. Patrick’s Day celebration. She says to her husband, “Paddy, we’ve been married a long time. You’re a good looking man and I think you’ve slept with a lot of women. I won’t be mad but I’d like to know how many, if any.” Paddy replies, “You should know I never slept with anyone but you, my dear. All the rest I was awake.”

It’s Saint Patrick’s day and an armed hooded robber bursts into the Bank of Ireland and forces the tellers to load a sack full of cash. As the robber is leaving with the loot, one brave Irish customer grabs his hood and pulls it off revealing his face. The robber shoots the guy dead. He then looks around the bank to see if anyone else has seen him. One of the tellers is looking straight at him so the robber walks over and calmly shoots him dead too. Everyone is now terrified and looking down at the floor. The robber shouts angrily, “Did anyone else see my face?” There’s a brief silence; then one elderly Irish man, still looking down, tentatively raises his hand and says, “I think me wife may have caught a glimpse.”

If you have puzzles that you have completed and would like to share, bring them to the table. Cleaning or downsizing? Bring your items to the table.

Enclosed in this Dispatch is a “Membership Survey” that our Board of Directors would like you to complete and return at the March 20th meeting. A Survey Collection Box will be available at the sign -in table to deposit your responses. You can also mail it to me at: Shelly Schwartz in San Jose, CA. Thank you for your assistance.

If you’re a Medicare beneficiary, you might have heard of the “doughnut hole” – the coverage gap in Medicare that pushes higher prescription drug payments onto seniors. Luckily, February’s budget deal closes that gap in 2019, earlier than expected, but pharmaceutical companies are still raking in the profits on high-cost prescription drugs.

AARP would like us to tell them about how the high prescription drug costs are impacting us and our families. Our stories will help them show Congress the real-world impact that this crucial issue has on millions of hardworking Americans like us. Please go to https://action.aarp.org and write “doughnut hole” into the search bar.

Two priorities from the California State Legislature:

1. For Richer or Poorer: A Family Caregiver’s Journey focuses on the realities of Caregivers, the impact they have on society and resources that are now available through the work of AARP and other organizations and elected officials. https://blog.aarp.org/2018/02/12/for-richer-or-poorer-a-family-caregivers-journey/

This article has some very powerful numbers and quite a bit of helpful information. This next one, you think, well I’m too old for dating; but you would be surprised how many of us oldsters are out there looking for love….the second, third or fourth time around! So, beware! Caveat Emptor is not just for the buyer, but also the lover!

2. The Better Business Bureau has a study on how scammers use impersonation, blackmail and trickery to steal from unsuspecting daters. https://www.bbb.org/globalassets/article-library/romancescam-study/bbb-study-online-romance-scams-study.pdf

March Opportunity tickets at 3 for $1 are:

BLUE SKY RESTAURANT $25 Gift Card

2028 Winchester Blvd, Campbell 408-378-0424

(Thanks to Barbara Robinson )

HABIT BURGER GRILL Free Charburger w/Cheese OR Equal Value Item

2000 S. Bascom Ave, Campbell 408-369-9201

(Thanks to Angie Jaggars)

CAMPBELL EXPRESS (2) 408-374-9700

(Thanks to Stephon Hansen)

February winners were:

THE GARRET: Margaret Schieck

BURGER KING: SaraHeisinger

CAMPBELL EXPRESS: Fannie Young & David Hirsch

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR GOODIE BAG: Norman Schwartz

Pacific Stroke Association is a local not-for-profit organization with the mission to reduce the incidence of stroke through education and to help alleviate stroke’s devastating aftermath through support programs for stroke survivors and their family caregivers. Through stroke lectures, multi-lingual educational materials, health fairs and mass media, PSA reaches over 79,000 people a year in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.  Sherril Hopper, RN, MSN, FNP-CANVC-BC, CNRN-BC has been the Stroke Program coordinator at El Camino Hospital, Mountain View since 2007.  She graduated from Georgetown University’s MSN/FNP program in July 2013.  In early 2014, Sherril was selected by the Joint Commission to participate at the Afib Stroke Prevention Panel.  Sherril serves as a board member for the Association of Neurovascular Clinicians.

Social Time 9:30 am

Meeting 10 am

Leave clean clothing, bedding and nonperishable food for Sacred Heart on the bench outside. Please do not bring garage sale type items for Sacred Heart.

Please bring books to share.

Place these items on the first table: donations for the troops, new and used greeting cards in the box; your volunteer hours in purple envelope.

Lunch after Meeting: Sam’s Bar-B-Q 408-29-9151 1110 S. Bascom Ave, San Jose

Program: Sherril Hopper, Stroke Prevention