Some days you leave the house for a seemingly normal outing and then WHAM! life confronts you with the profound and wonderful where you least expect it. That’s what happened to us yesterday.

We left our temporary bayou home around 9:30 a.m. and drove to the pretty and historic town of Mandeville, LA. Where do I start… first we need a map.

The town of Mandeville was laid out in 1834 by developer Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville. It soon became a popular summer destination for well-to-do New Orleanians wishing to escape the city’s heat.

In the mid-19th century, regular daily steamboat traffic between New Orleans and Mandeville began. Bands would play music on the ships crossing the lake. Mandeville became one of the first places where the new “jazz” music was heard outside of New Orleans. Bunk Johnson, Buddy Petit, Papa Celestin, George Lewis, Kid Ory, Edmond Hall, Chester Zardis, and many other early jazz artists regularly played in Mandeville.

Okay, you have the setting. But let me add some perspective on the size of Lake Pontchartrain. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway consists of two parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain. Since 1969 it has been listed by Guinness World Records as the longest continuous bridge over water in the world.

One more point of interest: the Seven Sisters Oak, located in Mandeville,  is the largest certified southern live oak tree. It is estimated to be up to 1,500 years old with a trunk that measures 38 feet (11.6 meters). This oak is also the National Champion on the National Register of Big Trees and the Champion Oak of Louisiana according to the Louisiana Forestry Association. The Seven Sisters survived a near direct hit from Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Our plan for the day was pretty simple. We bought a Living Social coupon for Mande’s restaurant in Mandeville and from there we were headed across the Causeway to New Orleans to hang out at the park along the Mississippi and then get groceries and from there, who knows…

Breakfast at Mande’s in Mandeville. Wow! Best breakfast ever! Anyone can do eggs. Who wants to debate omelettes? Sure, some want to compare bacon or sausage. Boring!

Here is the review of Mande’s restaurant on Yelp. Notice the mention of “best eggs Sardou EVER.” Eggs Sardou is a rich combination of poached eggs on English muffins with a slice of tomato, smothered in a spicy artichoke and creamed spinach Hollandaise sauce. Unless you can conceive of such a creation, it is time to close your restaurant. Ham and eggs… get out a here.

After that epicurean delight, we made our way to the lake and parked at a long pier with a majestic view. It was a clear, sunny day, the temperature around 70 degrees. The walk out on the pier was simply lovely.

We passed a handful of fishermen as we made our way along the pier remarking on the different birds, the warmth of the sun, and the beauty of the lake. The next few moments caught us in one of life’s unpredictable wonders. As we approached the end of the pier, a man casting a line into the lake stopped us and said we might not want to walk to the end.

We were speechless as he explained that a fellow fisherman had apparently died in his chair while fishing. During the course of some general fisherman banter, the man did not respond and it was then discovered that he was not breathing.

The man died, in this quiet, peaceful and beautiful setting doing what he loved. Trying to grasp how perfect his passing was, our thoughts gave way to the world around us.

Soon after, the EMT’s and police arrived. There were questions like who was he, what about his family, when did he die, how long had he been fishing, was he alone. But none of that seemed to matter. It was perfect.

You hear from people that they want to die this way or that. They imagine how their life will end, yet very few realize their moment. This man did.

We never made it to the end of the pier. It was enough. This ending was perfect.