Infantry soldiers are sometimes referred to as the pointed end of the stick. It is that end that does all the damage. It is that end you notice. The rest of the stick, the vast majority of it, is lost in a veil of tears. Back in my day, for every soldier in the field, there were at least 10 others serving in support roles. I am sure today, the ratio is even greater,

I am the pointed end of the stick. The end you notice. The people who make it all possible, the other ones you don't see or notice, have been working away behind the scenes nearly non-stop for 9 months or more.

You would most likely not be reading this if it weren't for my sister Leah. She is bigger than life and has enough passion for things she loves to fuel the Space Shuttle. She won't take no for an answer and the only thing in her world that is an impossibility is getting the Pirate King to bed on time.

I love her to bits and have ever since she was born. I vividly remember strutting off to Grade school bursting with pride as I told my best friend Victor Noble that I was now officially a big brother to a little sister. Things haven't changed much in that regard for the last 50 years or so.

Without Leah, there would be no Facebook, Instagram, or blog. Without Leah, the thousand and one last minute details, things forgotten or suddenly needed, would all have gone wanting. Without Leah, there would be no Shoreteam. In fact, without Leah I might never have been able to get off the dock and instead of a few hours away from finishing, I would still be dreaming of starting.

If I am the pointy end, the one, then Leah is the 10, the everything else. William Blake famously said "Execution is the chariot of genius."

People, meet the executioner. My sister Leah. And if you somehow find yourself between me and her, that body block that has just sent you over the boards and off the track was Slaya Patra roller derby phenom just doin' her job.