Brenda Winter
By Brenda Winter, columnistJuly 19, 2016“I, Brenda, take you, Jim, to be my wedded husband. And, I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be your loving and faithful wife, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.” It was thirty years ago on Tuesday that I said those vows to my husband at the Presbyterian Church in Luverne and he said them back to me with…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJune 20, 2016Well, Phase 1 of the bike path is done. I’ve been opposed to the bike path because I believe the role of government is to secure the nation’s borders and defend liberty. I don’t see recreation on the list of “things government must provide for the people." But, the path is moving forward without my blessing so I might as well use it. I might as well use it because it’s in my back yard. …
By Brenda Winter, columnistMay 23, 2016This year’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Rock County is Friday, June 10, and guess who’s the honorary chairperson? Yup. I am. When Merecie Domagala (the real chairperson who does all the work) asked me if I’d accept this honorary position, without hesitation I offered an enthusiastic “Yes! I’d love to.” I said yes for two reasons. One, I get to ride in a convertible in the Buffalo…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMay 02, 2016I was 29 days into a 30-day anal cancer treatment plan. For the most part, I’d skated through the daily radiation and two doses of chemo without incident. I was a little tired, had a little nausea, and I had a little “sunburn” from the radiation, but nothing major. I began to wonder why I had been in such dread of traditional cancer treatment for so long if this was all there was to it. And then…
By Brenda Winter, columnistApril 04, 2016I don’t know if you know “The Johnny Appleseed Song” usually sung by church youth groups before they eat. It goes like this: Oh, the Lord is good to me And so I thank the Lord For giving me The things I need Like the sun and the rain and the apple tree. The Lord is good to me Let’s eat! It all started the day I began chemo and radiation. The song sounded like this: Oh, the Lord is good to…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMarch 14, 2016My attempt to contain or reverse cancer with alternative methods has ended. It’s been 20 months since I was diagnosed with anal cancer in June of 2014. I’ve eaten a lot of broccoli since then. I’ve travelled to foreign countries and seen alternative practicioners in three states. I’ve sat in saunas, lost weight, tried to connect with my inner child and consumed copious amounts of fresh vegetable…
By Brenda WinterFebruary 22, 2016Our cat is sick. And I am not a cat person. I grew up on a farm where the average life expectancy of a cat was about three years. Causes of death among farm cats include the milk truck, a tractor, a car, a dog, a trap, hypothermia, a horse, a cow, another cat — and of course, disease. Sad but true — life on the farm can be brutal. But ours is not a farm cat. Ours is a house cat. He’s old and now…
By Brenda Winter, columnistFebruary 02, 2016Tuesday morning’s weather forecast was the stuff that Minnesota dreams are made of. “Snow, heavy at times. Gusty winds will lead to blizzard conditions. High 28F. Winds NNE at 25 to 40 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulating 5 to 8 inches. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.” Yup. One hundred percent. Up to eight inches. Fifty miles per hour. School superintendents slammed school…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJanuary 11, 2016Heartbreak is not new to Vikings fans. Heartbreak is what we expect. So when the Vikings led for most of last Sunday’s playoff game only to lose by missing a field goal in the last few seconds — Vikings fans were not surprised. We are the kind of people who maintain low expectations so as to avoid disappointment. This character trait — of expecting life to be disappointing and to probably get…
By Brenda Winter, columnistDecember 22, 2015Dear Friends, It’s been a busy and blessed year at the Juhl-Winter household. In January our sweet Kate left for an 11-month stint on the mission fields of Thailand. In February Brenda traveled to the Twin Cities with college friends to attend a John Cougar Mellencamp concert. For three hours the four women were 19 again (even though their combined age is 208.) In March we traveled to California…
By Brenda Winter, columnistDecember 01, 2015She’s back. Our baby girl, age 21, is back from the ends of the earth. Well, OK, she’s back from Thailand, which is not the end of the earth, but it’s a loooooooong way from Luverne. She flew to Sioux Falls from Bangkok Tuesday night. (Nothing says “Welcome Home” from a tropical climate like 10 inches of fresh snow.) And now she’s asleep in her room in the basement. Eleven months have passed…
By brenda winter, columnistNovember 09, 2015It may not be ranked among life’s great questions such as, “What is the meaning of life?” or “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” but to me the question is profound. I was painting my sister’s dining room last week as my seven-year-old niece munched on a taco at the dining room table. Staring off into space as children do when they eat, she asked, “Auntie…
By brenda winter, columnistOctober 19, 2015The view from my living room window and other thoughts on cancer The view from my living room window includes a cemetery. Last night we had the first hard frost of the season, so the view also includes dead and dying plants and flowers. Facebook tells me Luverne lost another beautiful soul to cancer yesterday. It won’t be long before we lose another, and another. Of the three friends I…
By Brenda Winter, columnistOctober 05, 2015Anyone driving by the old Juhl place on County Road 8 last week saw an unusual sight — an old granary being pushed slowly across the yard by a bulldozer. She put up a good fight, she did. The building was so well made the second story remained completely intact — right up to the time the excavator shoved her into the burn pit and began smashing her. I felt a little guilty watching the show.…
By Brenda Winter, columnistSeptember 07, 2015I, for one, am thrilled silly about the prospect of having three traffic lanes striped on Highway 75 instead of the four many of us have grown to know and love. The reasons are many, but I think my main reason is — having a turning lane down the center of the highway has a “big city” feel to it. I like it. This ain’t Mayberrry no more. Sioux Falls has center turn lanes. Worthington has them —…
By Brenda Winter, columnistAugust 17, 2015I am near the end of a three-week stay at a Mexican cancer clinic. After a year of trying to stop the progression of anal cancer using non-traditional methods, I decided I needed additional guidance. So here I am at Hope4Cancer three blocks south of the Mexican-American border. I don’t know if one newspaper column can even begin to convey the impressions and information I’ve gained in 10 days’…
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