Change is inevitable.
Looking back on my life, I can see changes that led me to where I am today. As a result, I think I turned out alright, but the jury is still out on that.
One thing that doesn’t change, however, is the memories we take with us along the way. Most of my recent memories are from my days working at the Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court Office and more specifically with our old chief deputy, J.L. Brignac.
J.L. had his own vocabulary. It wasn’t a zero turn motor; it was a “no turn motor.” It wasn’t a set it and forget it; it was a “set it and run.” He also had his own curse words like “choopabang” and “son of beluchi.”
It was poetic to hear him put everything together. One morning I walked into the office, and he was calling people about his supper that night. He misdialed the number and got the recording, “I’m sorry the number you have dialed is...” He answered back, “What the ever living bleep you’re sorry about.”
J.L. had a few other choice words as well. His favorite adverb was “super.” How many times he would say “super dammit?” One day a lawyer’s office call about an appeal. J.L. said that I already sent it to the court of appeal in Lake Charles. He then said, “We’re super efficient in this office.”
Everybody had a nickname. Mine was “Laptop.” His favorite one to use was “Bubba.”
On Miranda LeBlanc’s first day working at the clerk’s office, J.L. right off the bat started calling her “Miranda Rights.”
And, when he couldn’t think of your name, he’d run off a list of names until he got to the right one. It’s like with his nephews. It was always Trent, Ryan, Marty.
J.L. was also super conservative. See what I did there? I used to pick arguments with him on purpose about me voting for Charlie Melancon when he ran for Senate against David Vitter. I used to mess with him in other ways too. He would always fuss about people using dimes to buy cokes in the office’s Coke machine, so I would use dimes just for the heck of it.
I picked up a lot of his bad habits along the way to the point where I had the nickname of “Little J.L.” But, I also picked up a lot of his enduring qualities as well. He was a devout Catholic, was extremely dedicated, and loyal to a fault.
He knew the clerk’s office backward and forward. For example, he showed me where we kept the index that wasn’t for normal use. He said we had it because the things in there were abnormal.
I keep using the past tense when referring to J.L. because he was in a car accident four years ago today. He was on his way home from his birthday party. I got the call that night when I was walking out of Scandals in Lafayette. I had gone with some friends to see Keith Frank for Mardi Gras.
About a week after his accident, J.L. passed away. The night before he died, I was serving at the Mass to finish off the Lenten mission at Sacred Heart. During the middle of Mass, I had to go in the sacristy and cry because the homily was about Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well and dealt with all the emotions I was feeling.
No matter where the next round of change takes me, I will always keep the memories with me of J.L. and his dogs Tataille, Rarac, Lucy, and Oscar and the rest at 210 St. Joseph St.
June 9, 2026
