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MONROVIAWEEKLY
Local. Relevant. Trusted.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 - SEPTEMBER 18, 2019
Since 1996
VOL. 23,, NO. 36
THE OLD MONROVIA MAN AND THE SEA OF MEDICARE Explaining the inexplicable in Monrovia Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
O
nce upon a time, when your body turns a pungent “old” age of 65, your government starts paying you back for all those years you paid into the Medicare bank during your entire working life. Consider it a no interest savings account that you had to have for the past 40 years. Now you’ll get a little help from your friendly feds. For most Americans, a nominal fee will be deducted from your monthly social security check when you decide to retire or become disabled. Seems simple and logical, right? Hold the phone. You’ll probably have to—as you may be on eternal hold if you try and call anyone in the government. “Your call is very important to us. Due to an unusually high volume of calls we may not ever be able to comfort you but please stay on the line in perpetuity.” There is a plethora of Medicare information out there, and some of it may actually be useful. However, when my wife recently
- Photo by Terry Milller / Beacon Media News
attempted to delve into some research abyss on the best way to transition from Covered California to Medicare once her 65th birthday arrived, she literally was lost in a sea of paperwork. Confusing, enormously frustrating and
it consumed the best part of her day for a couple of months. So there’s a Medicare alphabet and probably a lot more madness to this jigsaw puzzle. Pretty much everyone automatically gets parts A and B.
AARP has some good information but there’s no one program that’ll benefit all. Or is there? We finally opted to talk to friends about the dilemma my wife and I faced. I was referred to
Nancy Bond Insurance Services right here in Monrovia by a friend, Hal Leavens. Brilliant! Although Nancy Bond doesn’t specialize in Medicare, she and her staff knew exactly the right person to help unravel
the tightly wound web of medical confusion that has been weaving through our collective minds. Enter Dan Tirado a softspoken and knowledgeable Medicare licensed independent agent specialist who knows how to explain the inexplicable. We scheduled an appointment for him to come to our house in Monrovia. This, in itself was extraordinary: who makes house calls these days? My wife was ready to ask a billion questions when he arrived but only took a few seconds to realize this is the man with the answers, especially when he understood her medical needs. This whole time I’m thinking this is going to cost a bundle of Benjamins that have yet to be delivered to my vast and ever-so-thirsty Monrovia bank vault. If you are confused about Medicare and what your rights are, I highly recommend consultation with the experts. Our experience via Nancy Bond in Monrovia and then ultimately Dan Tirado to whom we were referred, proved invaluable. Tirado, who is a licensed independent agent can be reached at (626) 808-3353.
SAMSON IS THE NEW ‘SPOKESBEAR’ FOR MONROVIA FIRE AND RESCUE Susan MOTANDER motander@yahoo.com
Next Tuesday at the Monrovia City Council Meeting Fire Chief Brad Dover will introduce the new “spokesbear” for his department. Samson, the iconic symbol of Monrovia’s Wildland Urban Interface, has returned as the symbol of safety for the Fire Department in its outreach to the community. In the early 1990s
the original Samson became famous when local resident Gary Potter filmed him leisurely taking a dip in his hot tub on Norumbega Drive. When the press caught the story it went viral and Samson became a celebrity. Unfortunately, he became a real “nuisance” bear—meaning that he had become too dependent on living off of trashcans and avocado trees. State Fish and Wildlife eventually captured him. Samson was scheduled
to be euthanized as he had bursitis (hence the tendency to take those dips in the hot tub) and only one tooth and was deemed unfit for re-release into the wild. A public outcry, lead largely by Monrovians including then City Councilmember Mary Wilcox, resulted in Governor Pete Wilson sparing the bear in the only death sentence he would commute during his tenure. The Orange County Zoo offered to take our bear and children throughout
the state raised the funds to build a compound for the “Hot Tub Bear.” An Orange County pool and spa company even donated a water feature for the bear and an avocado company donated a case a week of their product for the bear with a taste for the fruit. Our famous bear lived out his retirement in comfort. Read More at, MonroviaWeekly.com, under News
Samson will be present at various events around town. – Courtesy photo / Monrovia FD