It’s those friends you meet along the way

The best part of being a journalist are the relationships you form with people while doing your job.

This past week illustrated that perhaps better than any other in my career.

On Thursday morning, I departed my residence in Cut Off and took a trip to Benton, Louisiana — a small, quiet town in extreme northwestern Louisiana.

My purpose was to cover and broadcast a girls’ basketball state playoff game between South Lafourche and Benton.

But the basketball game ended up being just a small piece of this trip.

Sitting in the backseat of a white SUV, we rode — a more than five hour ride.

The other members of the caravan were longtime friends — across from me in the backseat Mr. Rock Thibodaux, a man I’ve known my entire life.

In the front were father and son, Coach Brian Callais at the wheel and his father, Mr. Daniel on the passenger side.

All three, I’ve met and have gotten to know through sports.

We joked, ribbed, gossiped and passed a good time — the usual stuff that guys do when they’re together.

At the end of Thursday, we remarked that we made good time on the trip.

And we did. We got to Benton in a little over six hours and that’s with two stops for refreshments and a stop for lunch.

But reality is that long trips always pass by a little quicker when in the company of good friends.

We arrived at Benton for the game, did our duty, then got back on the road.

Did we head South and come back home?

No, we didn’t. Instead, we went about 40 miles to the north and west and added a few new people to our story.

The Callais family has a member who lives in Atlanta, Texas.

Not wanting to be on the road in the middle of nowhere in the early hours of the morning, we traveled out of Louisiana and into Texas to the ranch home of Mr. Michael Callais and his wife Sandy.

I’d never met Michael, nor Sandy before last Thursday.

All I knew of the family was that Michael listens to a radio program that I co-host and that the couple lived in Texas.

But by Friday morning when we departed back to the Houma-Thibodaux area, I was proud to have two new friends.

The Callais family in Atlanta, Texas could not have been more hospitable during our stay.

They fed us, wined us, dined us and showed us a good time throughout our short stay.

Those folks have a lot to be proud of.

Their ranch, Windy Hill Ranch, is absolutely gorgeous — a massive property that they shaped into a quiet country paradise in the small Texas town.

We ate like Kings, told old stories and stayed up past midnight.

When the sun came up, we rose early (well, the others did; I’m a bit of a late starter), ate breakfast, told a few more stories and got a tour of the massive property.

We learned about a cow named Herman (that we think may actually be a bull), told tales of common acquaintances we’d all known and shared stories — some that have undoubtedly become a little exaggerated over the years.

After a quick breakfast and an episode of The Price is Right, we left and got back on the road.

We headed South for Thibodaux where we covered another playoff game.

The game was fun — they always are.

But I’d be lying if I said I wanted to leave that little piece of paradise so soon.

To my old friends — Coach, Mr. Daniel and Rock, thanks for the ride. It was an honor to share the memories of a great trip with amazing company.

To my new friends — Michael and Sandy Callais, thanks for the hospitality and a wonderful time.

It’s appreciated and I’ll not soon forget it.

The best part of this job is the friendships you make along the way — the people you meet on the ride.

Atlanta, Texas

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