How could I not notice this person tooling around the shops at Jefferson / Magazine in this child-filled contraption. Even in New Orleans, she kind of stood out- all that RED! Not to mention she was wearing some kind of heeled shoes (patent cherry red wedge pumps?). To top it off, the damn dog. To top it off again, the parasol??

So I said, “Hey, can I take a picture of your, um, thing, there?”
She said,”sure” and whipped into this pose like she’d done it 1000 times before (it was nothing special to the kids, either).

I asked her if she made the bike thing. She told me she had lived in Amsterdam where these things are de rigueur. She just brought it with her when she came back.
A lot of people in New Orleans are just trying too hard, but I genuinely think she’s just out enjoying herself on a nice day, not necessarily trying to put on a show, while being cognizant that she is putting on a show and not minding that at all. She clearly loves the city and embraces the freedom it gives by not really noticing things that would stand out (possibly to deleterious effect) in other cities.

13Jan08: I have learned that the bike thing is called a “Bakfiet”

Originally published Dec2008