Sometimes we find pockets of peace in this troubled world. Driving west to Lafayette it was mid afternoon when we reached Baton Rouge.

Along the Scenic Highway we found Bellue’s, a nondescript storefront we would have passed had Cheryl not found Bellue’s website which promised “the food is slap-ya-mama delicious.” The parking lot was empty. But hey, lunchtime ended two hours ago. Fortunate for us.

The counter clerk helped us order. Crawfish etouffee. Mustard greens with tasso, and cornbread dressing. And the daily special shrimp Creole. Seated at a comfortably Spartan table with our paper bowls and plastic forks, we witnessed another couple enter and order. They were from Lyon, France, here to experience real Cajun culture.

They spoke better English than I do French. Wirt Bellue appeared from the back and began conversing with his Gallic visitors. Soon he sat at our table, and the stories flowed. All the time he offered us samples off the menu. Then he took us on a tour of his expansive kitchen where his crew creates and packages Bellue’s Cajun foods for the world.

Wirt had been a captain on the police force, and assured us that his mission, his focus was to help people. Damn refreshing in this volatile climate. Now his mission is to promote peace through Cajun food.

À bientôt, Wirt.

The sun dropped toward the horizon. Hurried past the state capitol, snaked through the LSU campus, and on to Lafayette.