Tony Awards Tonight

Tony Awards

D-Day Tradition

Lieutenant George Acres: Monty, that parachute that didn't open... Suppose we were to drop a fellow out of a plane over enemy territory, with papers on him saying we were going to invade Greece, and his parachute didn't open. The Germans would find him dead, and the papers, and "Aha," they'd say, "Look at this. Officer with secret papers, parachute didn't open... they're going to invade Greece."

Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu: Do we tell the man who jumps that the parachute doesn't work, or is it a sort of practical joke that he finds out on the way down?

Some people watch "The Longest Day" on D-Day. It's a great movie, but today, I will watch "The Man Who Never Was". It is a somewhat fictionalized but excellent movie about "Operation Mincemeat", the British deception that made the invasion of Scicily a success by drawing away German troops. Take the time to read the story because it is more fascinating than even a movie as good as this with excellent acting by Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame can make it.

Last night I dreamed a deadly dream

Beyond the Isle of Skye

I saw a dead man win a fight

And I think that man was I.

Operation Jedburgh

Below, is the prayer heard by Americans on D-Day uttered by their President, Franklin Roosevelt

Behind the scenes there was a remarkable operation to prevent German troops from reaching Normandy: Operation Jedburgh. To this day, the actions, heroics, and sacrifices made by the Jedburgh men and women who parachuted behind enemy lines are still unknown to the majority of people. If you like war, espionage, and mystery, you can follow up by reading "Operation Jedburgh: D-Day and America's First Shadow War".

“My Fellow Americans:

“Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

“And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

“Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

“Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

“They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

“They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest -- until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.
“For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

“Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

“And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them -- help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

“Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

“Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

“And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

“And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment -- let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

“With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace -- a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

“Thy will be done, Almighty God.

“Amen.”

Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing

I'm not under 40. I don't own a blackberry. You can't circle the globe with my circle of friends all needing to stay instantaneously in touch. So why sit down at a desk in front of a PC in order to tweet on Twitter? The answer is simple, you can make it do anything you want it to do and block out anything you don't want. You select the people and organizations you want to follow and you go to one page to find short communications from newsy to newsworthy that often have links to longer pieces, blogs, or other people and events of interest. If someone starts to bore you ... stop following. Someone makes your blood pressure rise ... block them. You can follow few or many (warning too many and you will defeat the fast and friendly nature of the beast). If friends are around at the same or prearranged times you can have a real time conversation much better than instant messaging.

You quickly discover the people who can convey a thought in a sentence. Two favorites: Senator Claire McCaskill. She says her children taught her how to tweet well and it shows. Anna Marie Cox just makes you smile. It may be an illusion, but this lady appears to go through life at a breakneck speed and most of the time having a ball doing it.

Let the pundits go on about "social networking" and is it or isn't it a fad. They do like to blather on to fill time and my time is valuable, which is the real reason I tweet: All the blogs, news, politicos, and mags that I would have to visit individually to check out are all on one page, letting me know if it is worth the effort. My favorite bloggers are telling me the subject of their latest blog as well as what is going on in their day.

Two of my favorite bloggers seem to have caught the bug as well. Shelly Tucker and Jessica the Rock Chick pop up every now and then. Twitter does away with distance in much the same way that direct dial must have done for the telephone.

So check out the little blue bird at Twitter and sing out.

Let's all sing like the birdies sing,
Tweet, tweet tweet, tweet tweet.
Let's all sing like the birdies sing,
Sweet, sweet sweet, sweet sweet.
Let's all warble like nightingales,
Give your throat a treat.
Take your time from the birds,
Now you all know the words,
Tweet, tweet tweet, tweet tweet.