AND TOTO, TOO ... AT 7TH AND MONTANA!

  

Head for the Hills, folks!  Elmira Gulch -- the Despicable Spinster from "The Wizard of Oz" -- is alive and well and living in Santa Monica.  She surfaced this morning at 7th and Montana just in time to catch Rita in the act of trying to help a Homeless Dog.  The fun began when Rita arrived on the scene with Riley, a homeless Pekinese she wants to adopt as a companion for Max, her Fearless Poodle.  While Max knows how to sit quietly outside and wait for Rita when she grabs her coffee, Poor Riley -- a newcomer to Our Favorite Starbucks -- threw a Conniption Fit the moment Rita disappeared.  He barked, He yelped, He dragged a chair across the sidewalk ... all of which prompted Rita to come running, empty handed, to his rescue.  I went inside to get Rita her Iced Vanilla Latte ... and came face-to-face with Miss Gulch.  "So, you're getting her coffee, are you?," she hissed.  "I tell you, what does Rita expect, bringing a Homeless Dog like that around here?!?  Does she actually think it will behave when she runs in for coffee?!?"  And with that, she glared in Rita's direction -- as if to say "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" -- and flew out the door.