Had D-Day failed where would the twentieth century have run, what depths of evil would we have seen? Would there have been a will to try again and again until the Atlantic Wall was finally breached? Would that failure have cemented and paved the way for further German advancements (and atrocities). How different would our world look if it were not for those brave souls that ran headlong into hell on earth. It’s remarkable even miraculous that the operation succeeded and unthinkable that we could live with a world where it failed.

Several days ago I saw a bumper sticker that said “war sucks, why fight it?” While it’s a trite little quote and I’m sure it’s a popular thought, the person that has affixed that to their car is in desperate need of a history lesson. No one in their right mind likes war. It is merciless, does not discriminate victims, the innocent and the guilty can suffer in disproportionate ways with the innocent and blameless usually seeing the worst effects while the guilty perpetrators live the high life. I worry for our future though when there are many people that don’t realize that sometimes there are times that a free society HAS to stand up and fight because as terrible as war is, the consequences of NOT fighting are unimaginable. The fight against Germany in World War II was that kind of fight, the consequences of failure to stop them were unthinkable.

Today we are fighting extremism of a different kind, but it is the kind that has far reaching goals. Religious extremism from what some people term islamic fascists has among it’s goals the restructuring of our world order where their vision of Islam rules and those that don’t follow their religious path are killed or subservient to their worldview. Do you remember in the 1990’s the Talibans rule of Afghanistan? Now, imagine a world governed by those rules. Unthinkable. Now, I know that all Muslims do not think as the extremists do. Our war is not against a religion, but against fanatics that have used this religion to further their own power in an attempt to mold the world into their dim and narrow view of how things should be. Our war is against those that would direct teenagers and younger to blow themselves up at checkpoints and shopping centers, pizza places and dance clubs.

The extremists terrorists of today do not count on the vast armies and weapons stores that Germany in 1944 did and perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to be indifferent. It’s certainly easy to fear the power of a giant with a large build and towering muscles, todays jihadist’s certainly don’t appear to be sweeping over parts of the world as German armies did in the 30s and 40s. My concern though is that indifference will lead to their opportunity and the world may in the not so distant future again face the unimaginable. We may yet again face a world wide war against those that wish to impose their will upon ALL free nations. Would we today be able to rise up and face that?

The years after World War II, there was a mantra of never letting such a thing happen again and while certainly there have been wars, there have not been any on the scope and destruction of the Second World War. May we pray that we never again see such a spilling of blood, but may we also pray that we be prepared to make the same sacrifices in the cause of liberty and freedom for future generations if our fates demand it. The consequences of losing our freedoms and liberties are truly unimaginable.

I would like to express the greatest and deepest thanks to all of those that, over the many years have risen to the task to save our society, as vapid, self absorbed and narcissistic as we many times are. I notice today that Google which many times changes their logo on their search engine to commemorate a memorable day, today is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the game Tetris…. The fact that we have the freedoms to be so trivial as well as to reach such great heights as we have in the 65 years since D-Day would be impossible to imagine without great sacrifices such as those in Normandy 65 years ago today. I suppose in many ways it’s fitting that it is just another day to so many people. That is, I suspect, EXACTLY what those people were fighting for, so that life would be about a picnic, or working in the garden, reading a book, going to work or simply playing a game. Really, they fought that day, as strange as it sounds, so that we, today, could have peace.

If you’ve traveled our state you will know the great variety of pronunciation, grammar and even vocabulary you will find across our state. These programs focused on the Lumbee dialect found in Robeson County, which they say is/was primarily influenced by the Lumbee Indians (whom I believe are the majority population in Robeson County.) There are some vocabulary similarities with the Brogue found in the coastal islands like Ocracoke and the other Outer Banks areas. Some speculate that the members of the Lost Colony may have moved inland and shared their accent and style of speech with the tribes they intermarried with, it’s nearly impossible to be certain, but it is an interesting theory.

The coastal brogue is beautiful to listen too, there were some people interviewed that claimed people had asked if they were from Australia or Ireland (and you can tell why, there is a bit of a lilt.) They say that since the bridges to the islands along the North Carolina coast have only come in the last 75-80 years that these areas were obviously very isolated for many generations and that explains the dialect difference.

A certain amount of time was also spent on the mountain dialects and how they vary from county to county in the Blue Ridge Mountains (just as the coastal brogue varies from one island community to the next.)

There of course were also discussions of the Spanish accent that is increasingly heard in our state as well as the dialects of the African American community in different corners of the state (urban and rural). One piece that I thought was somewhat sad was a look at the dialect in the Charlotte area and how many say that they are losing that accent as they become more and more a business center. Why is it sad? I don’t know, but the variety is nice, it’s sad to me to see every place start to look and sound alike. Communities lose their character that way in my view.

I remember when we lived in Rocky Mount for a short time I had the hardest time understanding our down east mechanic. Sometimes he would rattle something off at a surprising pace that just outran my ear….. In these programs they talked about how diverse North Carolina is linguistically with all of these dialects and I suspect it is one of the more diverse states in the nation for that (outside of states that perhaps have a more varied immigrant community…)

If languages interest you, I would definitely look for materials on this topic… of course I am fascinated by language and languages and even have a site devoted to the study of new languages which is probably why it piqued my interest, but also from a cultural heritage standpoint, these people interviewed spoke about how the dialects really define their community.

1 John Mary
2 William Anna
3 James Emma
4 Charles Elizabeth
5 George Minnie
6 Frank Margaret
7 Joseph Ida
8 Thomas Alice
9 Henry Bertha
10 Robert Sarah
11 Edward Annie
12 Harry Clara
13 Walter Ella
14 Arthur Florence
15 Fred Cora
16 Albert Martha
17 Samuel Laura
18 David Nellie
19 Louis Grace
20 Joe Carrie

1 John Mary
2 William Helen
3 James Anna
4 George Margaret
5 Charles Ruth
6 Robert Elizabeth
7 Joseph Florence
8 Frank Ethel
9 Edward Marie
10 Henry Lillian
11 Thomas Annie
12 Walter Edna
13 Harry Emma
14 Willie Alice
15 Arthur Bessie
16 Albert Bertha
17 Fred Grace
18 Clarence Rose
19 Paul Clara
20 Harold Mildred

1 John Mary
2 William Dorothy
3 Robert Helen
4 James Margaret
5 Charles Ruth
6 George Mildred
7 Joseph Virginia
8 Edward Elizabeth
9 Frank Frances
10 Richard Anna
11 Thomas Betty
12 Harold Evelyn
13 Walter Marie
14 Paul Doris
15 Raymond Alice
16 Donald Florence
17 Henry Irene
18 Arthur Lillian
19 Albert Louise
20 Jack Rose

1 James Mary
2 Robert Barbara
3 John Patricia
4 William Judith
5 Richard Betty
6 Charles Carol
7 David Nancy
8 Thomas Linda
9 Donald Shirley
10 Ronald Sandra
11 George Margaret
12 Joseph Dorothy
13 Larry Joyce
14 Jerry Joan
15 Kenneth Carolyn
16 Edward Judy
17 Paul Sharon
18 Michael Helen
19 Gary Janet
20 Frank Elizabeth

1 David Mary
2 Michael Susan
3 James Linda
4 John Karen
5 Robert Donna
6 Mark Lisa
7 William Patricia
8 Richard Debra
9 Thomas Cynthia
10 Steven Deborah
11 Timothy Sandra
12 Joseph Barbara
13 Charles Brenda
14 Jeffrey Pamela
15 Kevin Nancy
16 Kenneth Sharon
17 Daniel Cheryl
18 Paul Elizabeth
19 Donald Teresa
20 Brian Lori

1 Michael Jennifer
2 Christopher Amanda
3 Jason Jessica
4 David Melissa
5 James Sarah
6 Matthew Heather
7 Joshua Nicole
8 John Amy
9 Robert Elizabeth
10 Joseph Michelle
11 Daniel Kimberly
12 Brian Angela
13 Justin Stephanie
14 William Tiffany
15 Ryan Christina
16 Eric Lisa
17 Nicholas Rebecca
18 Jeremy Crystal
19 Andrew Kelly
20 Timothy Erin

Anyway, fyneart.com is apparently located in the UK, so I wondered what options there were here in the US….

I’ve found several companies doing this same thing. American Oil Portraits, Oil Paint Portraits, Colorview Portraits, Portrait Masters, Paint Your Life, and Anything Painted on Canvas.

It looks like hte prices start from around $80 at the lowest and go up from there. Some of the sites offer oil paintings only, but some offer charcoal or other options. (Charcoal seems a bit less expensive.) Whatever you choose I’m sure that a painting would be a memorable gift. These are the kinds of things passed down from one generation to another.

I think for any of these I would want to take a look at their work first, many seem to require only 20% up front and then you will have a chance to take a look at the work and approve it before paying the balance. Since you can use any digital photo, there’s no reason it has to be a recent picture, but it could even be a remake of an older painting.

1 Jacob Emily
2 Michael Hannah
3 Matthew Madison
4 Joshua Ashley
5 Christopher Sarah
6 Nicholas Alexis
7 Andrew Samantha
8 Joseph Jessica
9 Daniel Taylor
10 Tyler Elizabeth
11 William Lauren
12 Brandon Alyssa
13 Ryan Kayla
14 John Abigail
15 Zachary Brianna
16 David Olivia
17 Anthony Emma
18 James Megan
19 Justin Grace
20 Alexander Victoria