The Saga of Sparky Lei-Lei

I first met Sparky Lei-Lei* at a singles' group white elephant gift exchange about 4 years ago. I can't even say I won him. I actually had to beg someone else to relinquish their gift to me. You see, Sparky Lei-Lei had a striking similarity to my dog, Princess, I had growing up, with the exception of the grass skirt and the flip flops.

Well, I let Sparky sit in my Toyota Echo for another 2 years or so. I could never quite bring myself to permanently attach Sparky to my interior with the double-sided tape under his feet. I mean, I liked Sparky and all, but I couldn't decide if a hula dog was really what my Echo needed.

Fast forward to a little over a year ago. I'm in my new Toyota 4Runner, and Ryan is going through that bin between the seats, that holds all the miscellaneous things you might need for a drive, whether it's CD's, Kleenex, or that extra battery you might need for your garage door opener. He comes across Sparky and bam before I knew it, Sparky is dancing atop my dashboard.

It was exactly one year and one week ago that Ryan and I made the 14 hour trip to move all my earthly possessions from Dallas to Mt. Vernon. All along that way, Sparky kept me company. ("Should we stop at this gas station, Sparky Lei-Lei?" Nod "yes" if we should. Really, he's like a fabulous Magic 8 Ball, except I command his answer.) His double-sided tape held him firmly in place, as he showed me the way home.

Unfortunately, the hot sun on the dashboard took its toll, and after about 2 more weeks, I climbed into my truck at a gas station after filling up, and let out a shriek. Ryan ran over to see what was wrong. There, on the dashboard, were the haunches of a dog with flip-flops, and nothing else. The top of Sparky Lei-Lei lay on the floorboards, detached from his legs and feet.

It was in that condition that Sparky remained for the last entire year. I can't even describe how creepy a pair of disembodied dog legs with flip flps are, but I got used to it after a year. After sufficient begging and pleading with my husband, I arrived home last week from my travels, to discovered Sparky Lei-Lei, again in one piece on my dashboard.

Show me the way home, Sparky, show me the way home.

*That's "Lei" pronounced with a long "i", like "lie".