Dashboard Hula

So. . . the person with whom I share the Fargo bought himself a new plane. A PA-12. Lucky him. Not that that matters for the sake of this blog, I just figured I'd throw that in there (that's my jealousy coming out, he gets a cool bush plane and I'm still stuck with the Fargo). Because he's got his own plane now, certain things have disappeared from the Fargo. His headsets, for one. His GPS, for another (which I thought was going to screw me up completely, but it's definitely improved my navigational skills while I wait for my new GPS to come from ebay, an entirely different story). But, headsets and a GPS can be bought. What had the biggest effect, or the most noticeable effect, was the fact that he removed his dancing dashboard hula girl. There is now a large, gaping empty spot where she used to bounce and sway with the turns and the turbulence.

The reason there is still an empty spot (but not for long, which I will get into later) is because I haven't quite figured out why she was there in the first place, even though I am affected by her absence. Why did he need his dancing tiki girl in the first place? It wasn't like he'd been to Hawaii and brought her back from the tropics to remind himself of the warmth and lushness of the place. It was a gift when he'd bought his first plane. So, I'd like to know, why it was a gift in the first place, because I know he's not the only one with a dancing girl in a grass skirt and flowered lay upon their dashboard, aviation or not.

When did this tradition come about and for what reason? To my disappointment, I could not find my answer on the internet, a rare occurence indeed. I knew that the penguins in Madagascar 2 had a tiki girl on the dashboard of their plane, and that is a movie where the animators had to first decide she needed to be there and then go to the effort to draw her in. My research also brought up a few other movies that did have a dashboard tiki on their planes, the names just aren't coming to mind right now, although I think one had Danny Glover in it, but I can't be certain.

Apparently their rise in popularity came about in the 50's, so I'm not sure if this was a tradition from the WWII fighter pilots (a group full of traditions and superstitions in regards to planes and flying) or simply from some tourist that went to Hawaii in 1950 and brought one back to show his friends, who then absolutely had to have one, and then things snowballed from there. One thing I do know, is that the dancing hula is not restricted only to airplanes, for when I went to a send off barbeque for two men about to embark on a motorcycle trip around the world, each of them had the exact same hula girl that used to dance in the Fargo right in the front of their packs so they could keep her in sight at all times. The smart thing to have done would have been to ask them why, but they were so busy saying goodbye to all their loved ones I chose to hang in the back and leave them alone. But I do intend on asking them upon their return, once they've finished all the talk of their experiences.

Maybe I'm making a bigger deal of this than it should be. I just don't like to have things or buy into traditions that I'm not completely sure of the reason why (although, I put a Christmas tree up every year and know of no other reason for this than simply to have some place under which to put the presents). Since I was replacing all the things now missing from the Fargo, I was at a loss if I should replace the missing dancer. I'd basically decided not to, since I couldn't find a reason for it in the first place, until my friend showed up at my door with a package. In it, was a little tiki dancer with sticky foam upon which to place her in the Fargo. But not only that, she also came accompanied by none other than bobble head Jesus. I guess my friend thought I might need a little more of a good luck charm than a girl in a grass skirt. So, not completely knowing why, I'll have little tiki and Jesus bobbing around for my flights. If anything, they'll be someone to talk to on a long cross country, and good indicators of the quality of my landings. If they're dancing up a storm on the runway, I know I've come down a little too hard.