Dingbat sisters Marlene and Darlene from Leota, Minnesota, are creations of my imagination.
DJ Luethje and I will bring the sisters to life on stage Thursday, April 28, for a dessert auction fundraiser for Generations in Luverne.
We will play the roles of two hapless, elderly sisters trying their best to recover from the Covid lockdown.
The funny thing about older sister Marlene is that much of her personality is eerily similar to mine.
Like Marlene, I’ve gained a bit of weight “since the Covid hit.”
I avoid exercise and am a bit fond of cake. Marlene is my soulmate.
Like Marlene, I’m “frugal” and tend to leap before I look.
Even though she can be a little blunt at times, I like Marlene. She says it like it is. And she means well.
In this particular show, Marlene and Darlene mock being old and fat and even death itself.
Jeff Hartquist generously agreed to join us in our nonsense: “At Hartquist, we put the F U N in funeral!”
A main goal, and really the only goal, of the Marlene and Darlene skits is to make people laugh.
The message of this performance is that people can’t just sit at home letting life pass them by.
It’s become far too easy since “the Covid hit” to just stay home. To eat another slice of cake and maybe take a little nap.
The elderly, like Marlene and Darlene, have been hit especially hard by the isolation caused by the corona virus response.
Along with a stomachache from laughing, DJ and I hope those who attend the fundraiser will leave wanting to take a little better care of themselves — possibly by checking out senior dining options.
We hope someone feels motivated to try out the “stretch and bend” classes offered by A.C.E. at Generations and other locations in Rock County.
And we hope the beautiful new building our seniors now have will become a community hub where people gather to laugh and eat and exercise and … maybe have just a little bit of cake.