Mama and Daddy were not big drinkers, but Mama always kept her Hurricane glass from Pat O’Brien’s they got on their honeymoon.  Growing up I’d look at it and it seemed so exotic.  So I was excited to visit the same place they went all those years ago.  I suspected it had not changed much.  Burk and I are not really bar people but for some reason we both really liked this place.  No techno music was blaring and, to my husband’s delight, they offered free, unlimited bags of cheese popcorn.  They may have lost money on him.  Of course I ordered a Hurricane and kept the glass.  It now lives next to Mama and Daddy’s and they both look pretty much the same even after over four decades.  We sat outside by this fountain called “Fire and Ice” because of its mix of water and flames which was really cool.  It felt Parisian in the sense that the place was small with a certain intimacy and had a courtyard with no blaring TVs.  Inside it was dark without feeling gritty.  We had a fun time.  With the hubs sufficiently “filled” I decided to take him antique shopping in the good stores by our hotel.  We went in one place that carried more Limoges than I’d seen in Paris.  I did not go crazy but I did get an old brass fox door knocker which I love.  Since we have wolf hybrids as pets I gravitate toward any wolves and coyotes or foxes which are their cousins.  Ironically, we may have purchased it at a store called The Brass Monkey.  I cannot recall.  But I love taking pictures of historical markers and other placards I find interesting, including one I snapped of an old, rusted metal sign by the New Orleans police department which read, “Beware of Pickpockets and Loose Women”.  Walking to dinner we encountered a guy who stopped us and asked our names.  Burk was simply intent upon reaching Arnaud’s.  I told him our first names and he immediately launched into a rap.  My normally good natured husband was becoming silently agitated as this guy was literally standing between him and dinner.  Finally Burk just hollered, “Baby Doll let’s go; I’m hungry!” as I smiled and tried to look apologetic.  I had no idea he expected money for his rap.  It reminded me of taking Elmo’s picture the year before in New York and not knowing we were supposed to tip.  The rapper was clever and outgoing, working to make some money and not asking for a handout.  Burk would have tipped him I know; we just never carried cash on trips except to leave to the porters and maids.  I promised myself from that moment on we would never be without a small amount of extra cash.  The last thing I heard as Burk was yanking me by the hand moving us steadily toward the restaurant was, “Laura, Laura; she so sweet.  But she gots to go ’cause Burk gotta eat.”