This week we have a special section which is dedicated to war veterans in honor of Memorial Day. My brother-in-law Zach Weisheit has been to Iraq twice and is currently serving in Afghanistan. He’s also younger than me, so I find his dedication to this country pretty astounding.
You know how they always say that something doesn’t matter to you until its personal??Well, I think we all know someone who has fought in this war that has been going on for 10 years now. We at least know someone who knows someone that’s been over there.
My brother-in-law is married to my younger sister and they have three awesome kids together. They’ve got an almost six-year-old daughter, three-year-old son and three-month-old daughter. I don’t know how my sister takes care of all three kids and still handles everything else that she does. It’s like being a single mom but also worrying about your husband in war.
Zach isn’t in a safe place in Afghanistan either. He’s already had a few of the guys from his area get killed. It’s pretty crazy to think about considering I mostly worry about what I’m going to cook for dinner or if I need to lose 10 pounds. Zach is over there dealing with people who want to kill him every day. It really puts things into perspective here.
So I want to say thanks to Zach for his bravery, courage and selflessness.
I?also want to say thank you to all the men and women in our armed forces, and also to their families who support them with such grace and strength.
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Last week I went to cover an event at the Slidell Little Theater. It was a special showing of the play, “How I Became a Pirate,” which is about a young boy who is invited aboard a pirate ship where he thinks life will be grand. But he soon learns what really matters in life.
When the play started I saw a familiar looking man who was playing the part of the pirate. I thought, “This can’t be who I think it is.”?
I pulled out my program and lo and behold, I?was right. Playing the part of Pirate Pierre was Josh St. Cyr, who is also the Slidell High head girls basketball coach. Josh is also a good basketball player, which I have witnessed myself. Initially, I?felt like I was watching Larry Bird recite lines in a French accent (Pirate Pierre is a French chef).
Josh said he’s been acting since college but doesn’t have much time to do it now with a family and full-time job.
If you want to see something that doesn’t come around that often, check out Josh in the play “How I Became a Pirate” at the Slidell Little Theatre, which is having shows now. To find out exact dates and times, visit the SLT website at:?slidelllittletheatre.org.
(Chrissy Smith is Sports Editor of the Slidell Independent, and a former college athlete. She can be reached at chrissycsmith@gmail.com.)
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