Brenda Winter
By Brenda Winter, columnistJanuary 15, 2025On New Year’s Day my sister sent me a video of our 86-year-old father ripping down the driveway on his new Honda Monkey. The big bike was getting to be a little much, so Dad thought it wise to downsize. He’s usually a safety guy, but in the video Dad – with no helmet – spins his baseball cap around backward and tears off the farm yard. The video records my sister giggling and saying, “There…
By Brenda Winter, columnistDecember 24, 2024Our Kentucky granddaughters told us their “Other Grandparents” are taking them on a Disney cruise. They’ve been promised day spas and swimming with dolphins, carnival shows, island expeditions and food served from mile-long buffets. Grandpa and I were spending last week with the two girls, ages 7 and 9, when we learned about the cruise. Their parents were off galivanting at a tropical resort…
By Brenda Winter, columnistDecember 04, 2024It was early on a Friday morning and still dark in Luverne, Minnesota. Six a.m. was too early for even the sun to be up. It was so dark they called it “Black Friday.” I was snuggled into my fluffy winter bathrobe, sipping my first cup of organic, fresh roasted Honduran coffee with heavy whipping cream when Mr. Romantic interrupted the solace. “Wanna go to Bomgaars with me? Everything is 20…
By Brenda Winter, columnistNovember 13, 2024Well, it’s time. “The Charitable Sisterhood Christmas Spectacular” will be performed on stage at the Palace Theatre this weekend and next. The first time I took the stage was in 1979. I was a sophomore at Luverne High School playing the part of the maid in a murder mystery, the name of which I have forgotten. Opening night I was shocked when cast members began to encourage each other to “break…
By Brenda Winter, columnistOctober 23, 2024My otherwise socially accomplished husband addresses groups of small children with a stuffed toy moose on his head. The moose is part of the photographer schtick he uses to get little kids to have a natural smile for their school pictures. Many little kids arrive at picture day offering a fake “cheese!” smile that actually makes them look like snarling badgers. So, with a moose on his head,…
By Brenda Winter, columnistOctober 02, 2024So, I tried out for the Green Earth play and I got a part. As I learn my lines, I'm also learning that my 61-year-old brain is not as able to memorize as was my 18-year-old brain. That's how long it's been since I was in a Green Earth play. It was 1981. I played Mrs. Smith in “The Bald Soprano.” “She always styles her hair the same way." Mr. Smith was played by the late great Rod Iveland. The…
By Brenda Winter, columnistSeptember 04, 2024The wedding of our youngest daughter, Katherine, to her man of many years, Dylan, last Saturday was a mountaintop experience. Literally. They got married on a mountaintop. It was dark when we headed west out of Denver toward Boulder. I rode in the back seat through several miles of hairpin turns as we ascended the wedding mountain. I was flanked by two granddaughters, one of whom spilled a…
By Brenda Winter, columnistAugust 07, 2024Our friendship began in college. She thought I was funny and I loved her infectious laugh. We became apartment-mates and centered our home life around Tom Petty, Bud Light, Marlboro 100s, Doritos and cheese dip. She lived with my family in Luverne for a few months after our freshman year. We walked beans and picked cucumbers. The summer’s highlight was her catching a ride home to Rapid City…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJuly 10, 2024Melvin was not really a stray cat. He was obviously a cat that someone had loved and lost or, God forbid, loved and dumped at the edge of town. I introduced him to you in April. “It was just after the Big Chill a few weeks ago that Melvin appeared by our back door. The big orange tabby was also a few feet from death’s door. He had a cut on his face, a broken tail, a gimpy leg and hadn’t had a…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJune 12, 2024While most mothers of the bride spend months planning a daughter’s wedding, I’ve spent months wondering if there is something I’m supposed to be doing. Our youngest, Kate, who is getting married Aug. 31, will never be called a Bridezilla. “She said yes to the dress” on Facebook Marketplace. She asked her (one) bridesmaid to wear “whatever.” I’m not even sure if I’m supposed to wear a dress…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMay 15, 2024Dear George, We did it! We had the annual Marlene and Darlene comedy sketch spring fundraiser for Generations last Thursday – without you. There was no carrot cake. There were no bouquets of flowers. We didn’t set up tables and chairs. There were no centerpieces. We actually had the fundraiser at the Palace Theatre because we knew we didn’t have the “man power” for a full-blown event at…
By Brenda Winter, columnistApril 24, 2024Not Our Cat has lived in our backyard for eight years. She is calico, fat and grumpy. In the dark of winter she moves into the garage where she remains Not Our Cat until warm weather returns. Melvin, a young orange Tom, staggered onto our deck a few weeks ago seriously injured and unlikely to live. But with shelter, a soft blanket, and food and water placed near his mouth, he pulled through.…
By Brenda Winter, columnistApril 03, 2024One of the last pictures of my mom is of her in the garden picking zinnias. We actually used it for the cover of her funeral folder. She’s smiling at the camera, clippers in one hand and a bunch of fresh-cut zinnias in the other. We had no idea that 12 short weeks later, cancer would take her from the garden and from us. Her beautiful silver hair glistens in the sunshine. Her blue eyes twinkle…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMarch 13, 2024A year ago, from atop a 10-foot snow pile in the field next to our house, I took an “aerial” picture of 5 feet of snow covering our backyard. I’m not usually 10 feet above the yard, so I thought the angle was interesting. It was March 12 and the day’s high was 39 degrees. Yesterday, wearing T-shirts, we burned the grass off the asparagus bed at the farm and cleared out the flower bed. The tulips…
By Brenda Winter, columnistFebruary 21, 2024On May 9 the “elderly spinster sisters from Leota, Minnesota,” Marlene and Darlene, played by DJ Luethje and me, will take the stage at the Palace Theatre for the annual Generations spring fundraiser. This year’s show is called “Without George.” When George Bonnema died unexpectedly in December 2023, he left a void bigger than most. One of the many positions he vacated was being the “Life Force…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJanuary 31, 2024It was just after the Big Chill a few weeks ago that Melvin appeared by our back door. The big orange tabby was also a few feet from death’s door. He had a cut on his face, a bent tail, a gimpy leg and hadn’t had a bath in weeks. He looked like he’d had a close encounter with a car, or maybe a snow plow. His coat was a mess and his eyes were watery and sad. Melvin was in tough, tough shape. I…
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