About Atlanta senior life. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2016-2023 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 2019)
BETTER HEALTH HAPPENS HERE WELISTAR WellStar Avalon Health Park 2450 Old Milton Parkway Alpharetta, GA 30009 wellstar.org/avalon COMPREHENSIVE CARE CONVENIENT TO YOU Services Available Dec. 16 Urgent Care Lab Services Imaging Services Available Jan. 6 Family Medicine Cardiac Diagnostics Cardiology General Surgery Hand Surgery Pediatrics Physical Therapy Rheumatology Sports Medicine Urology DECEMBER 2019 ATLANTASENIORLIFE.COM PERSONAL SAFETY SHOP WISELY I hope you survived the annual Thanksgiving gathering, complete with updates on who’s divorced, getting divorced, threatening divorce and who’s pregnant, the details of which might lead to divorce. Good times. From now to your January credit-card bill, you’ll be distracted. Shopping comes with all the headaches you’ve suffered through before. Crowded stores, limited parking, rude drivers, bartenders who can’t get a vodka martini right—the usual. Friday after Thanksgiving is Black Friday. It’s a day that makes you wonder how we as humans got to the top of the food chain. Thousands of shoppers are focused on the sole mission of procuring a ridiculous list of absolutely necessary items at bargain-basement prices. To shop well past common sense and buyer’s remorse, to shop until the credit card actually melts. All of this dynamic activity is distracting. By default, the last thing on your mind is security. That said, why load you up with a couple of dozen crime prevention tips when most will never see the light of day? Instead, let’s go with a short checklist. When shopping in person 1. When shopping, keep your cash and driver’s license in your front pocket. Leave the 32-pound purse at home. Instead, bring a small wallet or go with the front-pocket method. 2. Don’t leave items on the seat of your car. Hide them or go home and drop them off. Don’t fidget around for your keys at the car. Have them ready. Look around for other people near you. Get in your car, start it and go—without checking Instagram or Facebook. Just go. 3. Inside the store, keep up with your stuff. Don’t set items down while you search through the black hole in your 32-pound purse for your cellphone or exact change. Block off other people’s view when you enter your password at the cashier’s station. 4. Shop during the day if possible. If you’re shopping at night, go with a friend. Do not engage strangers who approach you in the store or parking lot. (Again, have your keys in hand.) If you have a defense item such as pepper spray, a Taser or a bazooka, have it ready. Report anyone suspicious to the police (911.) STAY SAFE Steve Rose is a retired Sandy Springs Police Captain, veteran Fulton County police officer and freelance writer. He is the author the book “Why Do My Mystic Journeys Always Lead to the Waffle House?” and the column “Viewfrom a Cop.” When shopping online This list is slightly longer, but since online shopping is super easy, there are a few things to consider as you sit in your recliner, drink coffee, watch a football game and shop. Isn’t it wonderful that once you hit “submit,” Amazon delivers it 10 minutes later? It’s no secret that hackers can and will gladly steal your information. That said, here are a few simple, effective tips. Use them this holiday season when you’re shopping online for that special gift, such as the six-gallon, 130 psi air compressor I’ve been mentioning around my house for a couple of weeks. Here we go. 1. Install antivirus software. Update same. Don’t let it lapse. You want protection from ransomware, Trojans and hots. (Look them up. They’re nasty guys you don’t want in your computer.) 2. Use unique passwords for each application you hold near and dear. I know—this is the worst for me, too, since I cannot O FACEBOOK.COM/ATLANTASENIORLIFE
