It was only for a few days but still it was risky business.  Families, left behind, abandoned, might find it necessary to begin legal proceedings.  So why do two men leave their homes in Utah to travel to Houma, Louisiana?    

Investigators probing the matter might suspect the men, Lynn Lehmann and Roger Brockbank, friends for over forty years, might have fallen and succumbed to the temptation of feeding themselves on crawfish and shrimp.  The same slippery little devils that are very often north of $13 a pound in Salt Lake City and, most often, frozen.       

Or maybe it was the scenery.  Stately southern homes with football-field size lawns and   Oaks dripping with Spanish moss.  The pervasive bayous with their mysterious waters crossed by narrow bridges.  The sun rising over the suddenly golden water near Cocodrie.  The demented thought that maybe an alligator might chase someone down the road providing the perfect photo opportunity. 

A thorough investigation surely would consider the call of the fish; the Mackerel, Trout, Reds and Sheepshead  chasing the popping shrimp that leap from their liquid homes.  And there they were, the two suspects caught with the evidence, a huge tub full of the fish. A full limit after only a few hours of fisherman's bliss on Lake Barre.  Many had been hauled in two at a time.   

Food, geography and angling; all reasons enough to visit this special area.

I first realized that Louisiana was among my favorite places on the planet back in 1981 when I was producing a television news series and did stories from locations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafitte.   Two years ago my wife and I spent a day or two in Houma and I knew then I would be coming back.

But the real draw, the main attraction is not the water, the critters or the dinners.  The most enticing, intoxicating bait that continues to lure me back is interacting with the people.

It's a mix of things really.  The rich texture of the language; the character, simplicity and pure love for life and each other; the kindness to strangers such as my friend and I and the willingness to share their spirit and stories. 

I have proof. 

There was Sheriff Broussard, a Korean War veteran, who entertained us with his tales and philosophy at Lou's Bait shop way north of Houma near Fausse Point Lake. 

Then there was the perfect southern Matriarch, dressed in her Sunday bonnet, watching the blessing of the Shrimp Fleet at Chauvin and willing, with her daughters, to narrate the events of the day for two strangers.  

There was a man named  Pellegrin, at Munson's Swamp Tour.  His contagious spirit, zest for life and happily wagging tongue would have made the $20 fee a bargain if it was nothing more than he and us seated on the back porch talking.   The alligators were a bonus.   

Jansen Bourg is a fishing guide.  He's named his business 1st Degree Charters.   Spend a day with this man and you'll not only catch fish but you'll experience his love of his work.  Captain Bourg knows where the fish are and knows how to hook them.  One can only guess how many rookies like us he has had to tutor and pull through the day.  But he does it with a smile and a genuine excitement.  He reeled in fish and watched us reel them in like it was his first time.  He listened to our corny jokes and laughed along.  He made us feel like he was having fun.   And that made it fun for us. 

What's the big attraction in Louisiana?  Why Houma?   It's the people.  In their candor and honesty they conveyed their sadness and concern over events in their lives; the storms that come from the sky and elsewhere.  But those are things we all deal with in various forms and with diverse armor.  We found the victor that is the human spirit continues to thrive on the Bayous of Southern Louisiana.  It appears the citizens here will not have that spirit extinguished and, it was our good fortune, to have been touched by the laughter, kindness and good will.  Somehow we knew we would.  That's why we came.

Lynn Lehmann has written two books as LR Lehmann.

He is the creator and co-producer of the Fox Television Series.      

Beyond Belief:  Fact of Fiction.   He continues to develop television

shows in Los Angeles.