I hope you are. It means that you are brave, fearless and extremely courageous according to Bill Torrey the author of the book, The Ta Ta Weenie Club. To quote one of Bill’s expressions, hearing his childhood stories will make you “as happy as a dog with two tails.”
I asked Bill to explain the definition of a Ta-Ta Weenie; the following is his response.
“Ta Ta Weenie was an honor because it meant you were in The Club, though we called just about everybody a Ta Ta Weenie because it was fun to do. If somebody didn’t know what we were talking about we would enlighten them and see if we could get them to do something stupid to get in the Club. Remember, we were a bunch of idiots. If you successfully completed your feat of stupidity, you were assigned your Ta Ta Weenie Hat with your Official Ta Ta Weenie Number written on the side in magic marker. I was number 13. Lucky me! I was from a family of 6 kids, 4 girls and then two boys, and I was the youngest. Most of the Club members were neighborhood kids, but my brother and two youngest sisters were members. My two oldest sisters were too cool to be in the Club. Or too smart.”
To me, this is intriguing. Although Bill is highlighting his childhood adventures, there comes a time in our adult lives when we all must develop some ta-ta weenie-ness. It may be taking a risk or deciding to make a brave career move. Maybe you have had to stand up and do the right thing, even knowing it’s going to hurt.
I believe that brave, biblical Queen Esther was a card-carrying member of the Club. In my book, “Rhinestones on My Flip-flops,” I write about what a courageous soul she was and an example for the rest of woman-kind.
Let’s all put on our “weenie” hats, mustered (funny) with courage and relish (I can’t help myself) the idea of joining the gang. Because being a member of the Ta Ta Weenie Club is a good thing—yes, it’s a very good thing.
