Just 5 + 1 Dumb Dirls

Sallie after a successful game of miniature golf. She is the tallest Dumb Dirl

The Dumb Dirls are a group of women who started out taking trips and celebrating our birthdays together. Sallie's son Dane gave us our nickname when he was quite young. In later years, we shortened name to DDC.

David used to call us one short of a 6-pack and seemed to be much happier when we asked Sandy to be a part of our group. That odd number seemed to bother him.

The Dirls are: Sallie, Teresa, Barbie & Laura and myself. About three years ago, we asked Sandy to join us. Sallie had access to a motor home and there were just four of us at the time, when we took our first trip together about 15 or 16 years ago. We went to Branson and toured Silver Dollar City. It was great fun.

The next year, Barbie joined our group. Barbie and Teresa are sisters but they are as different as night and day. Barbie is very serious and feminine. She can't imagine going anywhere without her make-up and her hair combed. Teresa is impulsive and energetic and never worries about those things.

Sallie is tall and slim. She is always on hand to help out a family or friend. Laura is intense and smart. And our Sandy the newcomer has a lively impulsive personality too. And I seem to be somewhere in between this mix of personalities.

I want to tell you about one of our last trips where Laura and Sallie nearly got arrested. I think that our husbands would have gotten a great shock if they received a phone call from us saying that we needed to be bailed out of jail!

It was our trip to Hermann Missouri. Hermann is a great place to visit with wineries, antiques stores and cobblestone streets. Especially for those of us who like to walk and explore old towns.

Laura had made the hotel reservations for a room big enough for the five of us women. Without being mean, our host could best be described as someone from a completely different culture than ours. He gave us the choice of two rooms with three beds in each.

The first room seemed to be a little smaller and was not as nice as the other room. It did, however, contain a small refrigerator.

So when we decided on the larger room, Sallie simply picked up the refrigerator and carried it over to our room. We wanted to use it to keep our snacks cool.

The manager stopped by and we told him that we had borrowed the fridge and nothing more was said. The next morning, it became obvious that the fridge did not work and so, before we started off for sight-seeing, Laura and Sallie went to the office to let the manager know.

We had a long day of visiting shops, a couple wineries and having lunch. Hermann is filled with historic buildings and hilly roads. They have all kinds of festivals in the spring and fall.

When we got back to our room, we had a message from the manager for Laura to come to the office. Apparently, he had decided during the course of the day that we should pay for the fridge.

I don't think that he counted on Laura though. In his attempt to bully her, she called his bluff. He threatened to have her and Sallie arrested for theft and destruction of property. They both told him to go ahead or they would call the police themselves.

And so, a very nice patrolman came to our room. He looked at us five middle-aged ladies and wondered where the criminals where. After asking for ID, and after listening to our side of the story, he went back to the motel office to get the motel manager's version.

This guy wanted to collect $100.00 from Laura in order to replace the fridge we moved from across the hallway and into our room. The very fridge that never worked in the first place. And Sallie started it all with her klepto tendencies.

In the end, it was the manager who refunded our money for that night and we packed up and left in the late evening. Our next motel room was considerably smaller, but definitely safer.

I will post more about the Dumb Dirls in later blogs. Most of our trips were not filled accusations of theft and destruction of property. Some of them, we actually had fun!

Each of these girls have found a place in my heart. I enjoy their unique traits and talents and consider it an honor to be a part of their group.

Although we are a core group of 6 now, we have other women who join us for birthdays and day trips.

The past few years, our celebrations have become more simple and centralized due to finances and family constraints.

Our endeavors may seem tame to those who read this, but watch out! When we become old ladies dressed in our vintage best, we will cruise down Main Street in a flashy convertible. Our fashion accessories will include tiaras; support knee highs and comfortable shoes.

We are just 6 Dumb Dirls out looking for fun and adventure!