When you live in a true "banana republic", there are always the sublime moments that make you turn around and wonder is someone is playing a colossal joke on you. Thats what seems to happen every time I make a trip to New Orleans, even if only for an afternoon. Today was no different.

We decided to head down to the French Quarter after noon to eat a late lunch and maybe walk around the Quarter for a bit. It's only a 45 minute drive from where we live, so even leaving at noon meant we would get there by 1 PM at the latest. And since we ate pancakes for breakfast, neither of us were what could be called ravenous.

We parked on Dumaine Street near Chartres and walked over to Mona Lisa's Restautant on Royal Street. And since it was after the usual lucnh rush hour, we figured we'd be the only people eating there.

Wrong.

We walked into the restaurant; the tall lanky waiter took a quick look and said "seat your self anywhere", so we headed to the left where we heard people talking. There were three other parties seated. One table held five; three men and two women, all very loud. They were arguing in a joking manner about some tirasamu one of the women was eating. The second occupied table was a 20-something couple; he was also loud, but in a northern-US sort of way, like he came from New York or something. She looked totally bored with him and the whole experience; she was sitting there text messaging on her cell phone the entire time he was yapping on and on about only working 30 hours a week come January.

The oddest table by far was occupied by a smallish mousey looking woman in her mid to late 20's. She was almost waifish, blonde haired, and very anemic looking. At first I though she was crying, because she was hunched over the table almost as if in pain. We were seated, the waiter took our drink & appetizer order, and jetted off. I looked up towards the Waif Customer; just in time to see a tiny brown animal head pop up in the woman's lap.

A friggin' chihuahua. A damned fufudog friggin' chihuahua. Looking like something straight out of that "Legally Blonde" movie. So the entire meal, I watched the Waif Customer cradle that chihuahua, croon sweet little words of comfort to it, and hand feed it while the poor animal shook and shivered.

And then, just as we were paying our tab, I watched her stuff the poor little chihuahua into a pink little fufudog carrier purse, and march out of the restaurant into the bright October fall afternoon.