Newsletter

APRIL 18 MEETING IN Q80

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APRIL 18 MEETING IN Q80 10:00 a.m.

Social Time 9:30 a.m.

Please bring books to share. Leave clean clothing and bedding and nonperishable food for Sacred Heart on the bench outside. Please do not bring garage sale type items for Sacred Heart. Put new and used greeting cards in the box on the troop table. Bring your items for the GI’s into the meeting area. Put your volunteer hours in purple envelope at sign-in table.

Lunch after meeting:

Taste of China

1659 Branham Ln (at Ross) SJ   408.448.3748

Program:

DANNI BURTON

The Fine Art of Sharing A Story

President’s Message…Ken Schieck

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April brings Easter and Passover celebrations this year. So happy Easter bunnies, egg hunts, and Easter parades, as well as Seders, charoseth and family stories. Remember, too, the deeper meanings of each of these feasts. With the recent defeat of the American Health Care Act in the House of Representatives, supporters of Obamacare can breathe more easily. If Congress or the president bring up this issue again, it will probably be at least a year before it happens. At the March meeting, one of the concerns that Liz Gibbons raised was the reduction of transportation outreach to seniors. There is an article in the March 24 issue of the Campbell Reporter which describes a pilot program for West Valley seniors that is sponsored by the County. The cities in the West Valley group are Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino and Campbell. Look for this article on the front flag table at the general meeting. The Jewish Community Center of Los Gatos will host AARP mature driver and refresher courses in April, May and July. Look for flyers again on the flag table at the general meeting. I thank those of you who supported the Orchard City Community Chorus and the other choirs/ choruses who performed Mar. 10 at Campbell United Methodist Church for Next Door Solutions; the organization raised over $4000. Today was opening day for the SF Giants, and it seems like one of the problems they had last year is still with them. The bullpen blew a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning, leading to an eventual 6-5 loss in the bottom of the ninth to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Senior Walk

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12th Annual West Valley Senior Walk

The 12th Annual West Valley Senior Walk will take place this year on Friday April 14th at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall (2855 Stevens Creek Blvd) from 8:00am to 10:00am.  FREE Registration, Breakfast, Prizes and more!  8am Registration and Breakfast and 9am is the Walk and Resource Fair.  Parking in NEW Monroe St. Garage.  For more information call 408.535.4901 or email rose.dhaliwal@sanjoseca.gov

Santa Clara County Veterans Resource Fair 2017

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Santa Clara County Veterans Resource Fair 2017 – Saturday April 8 
Only a few days to go before the coolest Veterans Resource Fair on the planet, right here in our own backyards at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds! We want to reach every veteran in the county and invite them to the resource fair. So we need your help spreading the word to veterans throughout the Bay Area, especially in Santa Clara County. Please forward to every contact list that could include veterans or their family, friends or coworkers.

The San Jose Vet Center Resource Fair Advisory Council is pleased to announce the upcoming 12th Annual Veterans Resource Fair to be held on Saturday, April 8, 2017 at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Fiesta Hall from 10 AM to 3 PM.

A record number 80+ service providers are signed up for the Veterans Resource Fair this year. Services offered include veteran benefits counseling, employment opportunities, medical and housing needs, community agency support services, and education benefits. The attendees are offered FREE lunch, child care and parking. Veteran online signup, a complete list of service providers, and more info:    http://www.regathon.com/
Flier is online:  http://www.regathon.com/veterans/ fliers/flier.pdf Questions: contact veterans@regathon.com  

Opportunity Tickets

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Opportunity Tickets…Barbara Robinson
April drawings at three for $1 are:

TASTE OF CHINA $10 Gift Card 1659 Branham Lane (at Ross Ave) SJ 408.448.3748 (Thanks to Libby Harbour)
DAIRY QUEEN $5 BUCK LUNCH
(Thanks to our AARP Treasure Chest Funds)
1 LB. OF FRESH COFFEE  WEEKEND COFFEE ROASTER’S
CAMPBELL EXPRESS (2) (Thanks to Mr. Hansen)

March winners were:
Harry’s Hofbrau—Robin Connelly
Dickey’s BBQ –  Maribel Santos
Weekend Coffee Roasters –  Norm Schwartz &
Ralph Pfirrman
Campbell Express – Libby Harbour

Sunshine

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Sunshine…Irene Elardo

Get Well cards were sent out to the following people this month:  Anne Hootman,  Dee Morgan, Paddy Wray, Betty Levy

 

 

Legislative Report…Daniel Nnorth and Claudia Schott

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Now that Congress is back in session, they are already talking about cutting Medicare (Still? Again?) and we need ALL of your voices to tell Congress to protect Medicare! Here is the link to contact your Congress members  or you can write a letter to them or to Senators Feinstein or Harris stating your wishes. https://action.aarp.org/site/ Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6199&intcmp=AE-POL-ADVO-HMC-CTABTN-ADV_6199

In a letter to President-elect Donald J. Trump, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins outlines AARP’s priorities for Americans age 50 and older including protecting Medicare and Social Security, ensuring access to affordable health care coverage, and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. In the letter Jenkins writes to President-elect Trump that “Our nearly 38 million members nationwide and all older Americans are counting on you to protect their Medicare and Social Security benefits, protect their access to affordable health care, and to tackle the high cost of prescription drugs. Throughout the campaign, your statements on these important issues of health and financial security set you apart from many other candidates. Now, as you assume office, older Americans are looking to you to protect them from efforts to cut their benefits, increase their costs, or otherwise harm the crucial programs they rely on.” We hope he takes at least these campaign promises seriously. I hope to have good news for you about this soon.

Don’t have writer’s cramp yet? Here are two more Federal calls to action that you might want to look into! The first one is HR66. This is a congressional attempt to undo a federal rule that allowed California to create our Secure Choice Retirement Savings Act (SB1234). Our Senators Feinstein and Harris need to get an earful from all of us regarding this! It takes away another chance for younger folks to save for their retirement who don’t have ready access to a 401k savings plan from work.

The second one is HR708, the Age Tax. This one is a doozy! Instead of our older citizens (that’s us!) paying “only” three times more than the younger folks for health insurance, this is an attempt to give insurance the carte blanche to charge us thousands more for our healthcare! It’s time to write our Senators!! If you want to write them online: https://action.aarp.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6267&CMP=EMC-SNG-ADV-OTH-020817 . Here’s more information:

‘Age Rating’ Is Washington-Speak for Overcharging Older Americans

Seniors: That’s How the Fight Started

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–Seniors: That’s How the Fight Started
One year, I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift. The next year, I didn’t buy her a gift. When she asked me why, I replied, “Well, you still haven’t used the gift I bought you last year!” And that’s how the fight started…. My wife and I were watching “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, ‘Do you want to have sex?’ ‘No,’ she answered. I then said, ‘Is that your final answer?’ She didn’t even look at me this time, simply saying, ‘Yes..’ So I said, “Then I’d like to phone a friend.”
And that’s when the fight started…
I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first. “I’ll have the rump steak, rare, please.” He said, “Aren’t you worried about the mad cow?” “Nah, she can order for herself.”
And that’s when the fight started….
My wife sat down next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, “What’s on TV?” I said, “Dust.”
And then the fight started…
When our lawn mower broke and wouldn’t run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, I always had something else to take care of first, the shed, the boat, making beer, always something more important to me. Finally, she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, “When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway.” The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp