Revolutionary Tendencies

I will be the first to admit that I have and will always have revolutionary tendencies. Not only am I of Irish decent but first and foremost I am an American and with that comes an inclination to revolt. Revolution is in our collective national DNA as Americans, whether or not our families were here during "The Revolution" (mine were back in Ireland farming, but probably revolting in one form or another).
For my friends across the pond I am referring to the American War for Independence.
From an early age I was raised on fighting for my rights, it was taught to me by my family and in my schools. I was given a steady diet of Boston Tea Party's, Whiskey Rebellion's, Uprisings, Martyrs and Hero's from my boyhood on and I loved every bit of it. It is who I am.
Many of my friends and relatives were quite surprised when at the age of 17 years I decided to enlist in the Navy. I remember one of my Irish cousins back in the old country telling me he hated anyone in uniform, even me, if I were to join the establishment. That part of my family being in the North of Ireland was not to fond of uniformed servicemen. Even my father tried to tell me that if I wanted to join the service to go to college first and become an officer because he knew I would have a problem taking orders from everyone, but at the wise age of 17, I knew better of course, and enlisted anyway.
I never for one minute will ever regret any decision I have ever made in my life because I am a firm believer in going with the flow. I have always made decisions based upon my instincts, regardless of what others may say and it has served me well, even though it has gotten me into trouble now and again. My boot camp company was nearly disbanded after a failed mutiny attempt by me and some buddies that thought our Recruit Chief Petty Officer (recruit leader appointed by the Company Commander[drill instructor]) who was a former Army guy who could not call cadence or orders and ruined an inspection for our company.
We were not disbanded but I learned a very important lesson in teamwork and leadership after countless push-ups and other physical punishment. Our Company Commander explained to us "HMS Bounty" sailors that instead of trying to take out our R.C.P.O. with a petition, like we tried, (yeah, I know a petition sounds pretty lame now but it was almost the end of my navy boot camp career) we should have taken the time to make our shipmate better. He explained that sometimes during our Navy career we might encounter men who we did not agree with, and we would sometimes think that we could do a better job as opposed to how they do things, but we should always remember that they are our shipmate, and our first duty as a shipmate was to be a shipmate.
He told me and my fellow mutineer leaders that instead of conspiring against the R.C.P.O and the C.C.'s we should have helped the R.C.P.O. overcome his faults, because we were all in the same boat and only together could we steer clear of future obstructions.
That was one lesson that I will never forget.
The C.C.'s had to make a decision on the day we arrived at boot camp as to who would lead our company, at the time they did not know any of us like they would learn in the eight weeks to follow, but they had to put one of us in charge so who better than someone with prior military experience. I was appointed to a leadership position a couple of days later due to my bed making abilities (taught to me by my former Army father) but they did not know that on the first day. They made their leadership decision based upon what was on our enlistment papers. They could not have known that the guy they picked could not call cadence, or fumble with marching orders under pressure, they just saw that he had served in the Army and assumed that he could lead the recruits better than some kid from Connecticut or anywhere else, because he knew what it was to serve our country because he already had.
Sometimes when you are put in a pressurized environment you forget that other people are in the same environment with you. Add in some competition and recognition and you can forget that the dumb army guy next to you still swore the same oath and signed the same enlistment papers you did and was in the same boat as you. He was not my enemy, as I thought when he called a right flank march as opposed to the left flank that he was supposed to call for the inspection, he was a confused kid in boot camp far away from his home just like me, and most of all he was my shipmate!

When I read what is happening in Ohio, and some other parts of the country in our fraternity, my first inclination is to join the revolution because those old bastards (my words) don't know what it is they are doing wrong and only by rebelling can we teach them. Then I remember my Chief from boot camp.
Those old bastards are my brothers. Those brothers who forgot what it is to be a true Freemason, are the same brothers who sat and re-sat in officers chairs to keep what their idea of Freemasonry was alive for young upstarts like me to experience.
Yes, we are at a turning point in American Freemason history.
I firmly believe that the ideas presented in papers like "Reform Freemasonry!" are like lighthouses to the ship of Freemasonry. They are shining beacons of light to guide us through troubled waters. Most of the ideas presented are exquisite gems of thought that I will use for the rest of my Masonic career, but my life experience has taught me to be a little more understanding when it comes to men in a position of leadership.

Even when my brothers disappoint me, I have to remember they are my brothers and it is my responsibility as a brother to bring them up to the level that we all aspire to attain.

Just like with my shipmate in bootcamp, who after the failed mutiny was helped by his shipmates to call better cadence and marching orders and we all went on to high honors, we must help our brothers become better Freemasons.

We are all in the same boat.

We'll get back to running the world after we read the minutes from last meeting and pay the bills!

I just love going to anti mason sites to get the newest wacko theory, like how global warming is "Brother" Gore's plan for continued Freemason domination (is he even a Mason?). As much as I don't want to give credence to their existence, I still love to check them out once in a while for pure fun. For me, they are like the Weekly World News, as dumb as "Bat Boy Found" was as a headline the W.W.W. always had a great picture and some other crazy sub story that kept my minds attention for more than I care to admit at the grocery store check out aisle, its much the same at the anti sites. But I do not want to write about my favorite kooks, I have a much more important and pressing matter that I want to address.


The Minutes........ or as they become for some of the brothers, nap time.

After the debacle of the fumbling Fellowcraft my lodge is getting back to business. Unless there is a petition to be voted on, we will be having our stated communication and a regular business meeting. How boring. If there is one thing that I could change about my lodge it is our regular business meetings. I know that an organization needs to have records and pay bills but is there any way to do it better?
First of all I would like to somehow get rid of reading the minutes of the last meeting. If there is one time that I look around the lodge and see the brethren daydreaming or even worse really dreaming it is during the reading of the minutes. I think we really have a solution to interrogating terrorists properly, sit them through the reading of the minutes and if they are still awake at the end they will give us all the information we want! But I digress, I have read and daydreamed about a traditional observance lodge or a European style lodge as we call it here in America and I believe that they do not read minutes. Is this true? How do brothers at those lodges catch up on their sleep? ha ha. I would really like to hear about ideas on how to record the lodge proceedings and check that the Secretary is not making stuff up without going about boring the whole lodge.
Secondly I would welcome any ideas to breeze past the bill paying and voting on them, that only take a few minutes. I know the bills have to be voted on and paid but there has to be a better way.
Maybe if we streamlined the business aspect and turned to more interesting use of our two times a month to get together, we would see more brethren on the sidelines. I don't know if this is the case at your lodge but it certainly is the case at mine.

And they think that we run the world during our meetings!

The Fumbling Fellowcsaft Degree (its even affected my spelling)

Today I wish I was writing about an inspiring night where universal truths were transmitted unimpaired to a worthy candidate but alas, I can not.
Have you ever seen the footage of the Hindenburg exploding? Well, that is about how the night went last night.
It all started rather innocently with a couple of brothers gathered together to break bread before the degree and rapidly deteriorated. I should have smelled it in the air the night before when our Junior Deacon called me to let me know that he could not get out of a board meeting and woul not make it for the degree. Unforeseen stuff happens, so I quickly shot out an email to the WM and Chaplain to scramble together a replacement. We were already short a Junior Steward who was on duty at work that night, but we always manage to round up enough brothers to make things work. So, as we ate a little dinner we solidified who would be sitting where and who was coming in to help.
Our candidate was going out side for a bit of fresh air so I accompanied him and decided there was enough time to pollute the fresh air with a cigar from my humidor, I brought with me for the occasion. We were joined soon enough by a few more brothers and were having a friendly pow wow when an unfamiliar car pulled up to the lodge. And as I pulled on my tasty cigar I recognized the Right Worshipful District Deputy stepping out from his car and gathering his regalia for a surprise visit! I have sat in lodge with him many times and was excited to have him join us but one of our newer Master Masons who was doing the Stewards lecture was absolutely petrified. The DD hung out for a while with those of us who were outside and then went inside to give our WM a good jolt. After the DD went inside, the petrified brother who was doing the Stewards lecture practically begged me to stand in for him for his lecture. I told him not to be worried and shared my own problems with memorizing and we all proceeded inside to start the degree.
I had spent the entire day either listening to or reciting the G lecture without stop. I got to the point where, although not entirely without pause, I could do the whole thing from memory and with some feeling.
The degree went on quite swimmingly. We made it through the first part without a hitch until we came to the Working Tools. I wondered what was going on when the brother who was giving the lecture stumbled a bit when he opened the box that holds our working tools and never gave each tool to the candidate as was customary in our lodge. He explained later that he was quite surprised to find the working tools of a Master Mason when he opened the box. He was given the wrong box of tools! I give him much credit because this was his first time giving a lecture and other than a stumble and giving the lecture with an open box of wrong tools he did quite well. There was something in the air!
After the break we proceeded to the middle chamber. Again my M.O.A.L. hero (see previous post) gracefully danced his way through the longest lecture of the degree. I gained a new and profound respect for the lecture itself, call me crazy but I really love that lecture. Then came my turn.
I was about one minute into my lecture, and going strong, when I came to a momentary brain freeze. I looked up to the prompter for a little assistance and to my horror he was having a word with the WM and not looking at me. With terror I tried to conjure up the words that were missing from my mind all the while repeating the last word I uttered, looking from the prompter to the candidate, prompter, candidate, district deputy, candidate, prompter. As my prompter tried to find the place in the lecture I left off, my brain turned to complete mush. The word I was repeating appears a few times in the lecture and he prompted a line further down in the lecture. I completely lost my composure as I tried to bring him to the point where I left off and it was all down hill from there. There is a certain rhythm to doing lecture that once lost can not be recovered, especially when the flop sweat is flowing for more than just a second. With much prompting I stumbled my way through the rest of the lecture and in utter dismay returned to my seat. But the pain was not over, being the go to guy in my lodge came back to bite me in the ass.
Before I was able to regain my seat, I caught the partner in the Stewards lecture of the petrified brother waving me towards him mouthing that he needed me to do the lecture with him. I had not even glanced at the lecture, being firmly ensconced in memorizing the G lecture, but like a lamb being led to slaughter I returned before the candidate to do an unmemorized, unrehearsed Stewards lecture. On our way to the North East corner of the lodge he asked me whether I wanted to do the questions or answers and being as confident as I was at that time chose to do the answers because I had always done the answer side of the lecture. Unfortunately for the candidate and all others sitting through the painful experience, the Past Master who was on the other side of the lecture had rehearsed the answer side, so we both, with much prompting, fumbled our way through the entire thing. After all was said and done I sat back in my chair just waiting for the lodge to be closed.
The prompter who is our Chaplain, and my mentor, told me afterward that he is so used to me breezing through lecture that he glanced away to answer a question posed by the WM without a thought of my needing a prompt. Afterwards I apologised to the newest Fellowcraft who I have been mentoring and promised extra special mentorship (is that a word?) to get him proficient for his MM degree.
Over a well needed adult beverage the DD reassured me that it happens to everyone and said I did a fine job, considering. The same was repeated by many of my brethren but, in my head it was a night to go down in infamy.

Esoteric.... Run for the Hills!

Why is it that when the word esoteric is mentioned, most brothers want to either laugh it off or skirt the subject at all cost.

Last year I read W. L. Wilmshurst's "The Meaning of Freemasonry", which I thought was quite a good exploration of the more esoteric aspects of The Craft. I remember wanting so bad to discuss some of the more thought provoking subjects in the book at Lodge, but there is almost never a chance during our meetings for discussion. The majority of our time in Lodge is spent initiating new brothers, or preparing to do so. Sometimes it seems to me the whole purpose of my lodge seems to be bringing in new brothers. Now don't get me wrong. My lodge like many others, is growing greyer by the day and absolutely needs new blood to keep things going. But initiating and advancing new brothers cant be the end all be all of our existence. Other than curious specimens like myself, that will keep at something even when there is not much to be had, most young men my age need something other than a meal and small talk and a degree to stay interested in the craft. Again, degree work is very important to the Craft, but I would like to know what happened to the Masonic scholarship that seemed to occur within our walls in the past. Sure we have some education nights, but they almost always revolve around some aspect of the ritual.

What happened to the Masonic thinking of the past that sparked the minds that enlightened the world. Why is it so hard for men, particularly brothers, nowadays to sit around and discuss the more thought provoking aspects of our time. We live in a world that our forefathers could not have even imagined, where communication is easier than eating and yet it seems the best things we can talk about are sports or entertainment. Maybe I am a left over soul from days gone by but there is nothing more interesting or fun for me than to have a discussion of heavy subjects with people who I respect and love.

Our institution is set up perfectly for this purpose. By removing the subjects of politics and religion, which can separate the best of friends, the founders of our order created an ideal forum for the exchange of free thought and information. I have read about traveling Masonic orators packing temples with men and can only imagine how exciting it must have been to be a Freemason back then. When I read transcripts of those speeches I am always amazed by the eloquence and thought of people, who on the majority did not have one tenth of the resources for learning that we take for granted.

The reason we go through the trouble of opening the lodge is to raise the attention level of all present, and to remind us that we are, at that time, not just a bunch of guys hanging out in a hall wearing fancy aprons and jewels. We are Freemasons bound by oath and obligation, committing ourselves to higher work. If we wanted to join just a charitable organization we could have joined the Exchange, Kiwanis, or Lions club or any of the many fine clubs that do just that, but we did not. I looked to join something that was much more than a social club that does charitable work. Did we go through three different initiations with heavy obligations just to get together twice a month and pay the bills or initiate someone new? We are not supposed to. We go through our opening to get us to a different place than the everyday world we live in and to do greater work for the benefit of our brotherhood and our fellow man.

Esoteric by definition of the Merriam-Websters Dictionary is:

1 a: designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone (a body of esoteric legal doctrine — B. N. Cardozo)

b: requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group (esoteric terminology); broadly : difficult to understand (esoteric subjects)

2 a: limited to a small circle (engaging in esoteric pursuits)

Freemasonry is by these definitions an esoteric society that uses tools of the builder to teach moral lessons to a select few who are initiated into our order. Sometimes I think that the brothers who run away from the term "esoteric", when it comes to our fraternity don't even know what it means. When someone mentions that they are interested in esoteric aspects of Freemasonry around my lodge they are almost always directed to the two philosophical research lodges in our state. If those are the only lodges in Connecticut doing real Masonic work, why do the rest of the lodges in my state bother opening and closing for meetings?

After I Knocked

My decision was made so I contacted the Grand Lodge of Connecticut via their website. I have to admit that this was a bit intimidating, only because other than what I had read (and that was allot) I had no contact with anyone who was actually a Freemason. Those conspiracy websites do impart a little ominous feeling, no matter how crazy their arguments are. So, coupled with my active imagination I was a little nervous when I hit the submit button.


I followed a trail of emails that I was c.c.'d on, from the Grand lodge on downward until I was contacted by a couple of lodges who wanted to set up a meeting with me. The lodge I had driven by and was intending on joining, was not one of the respondents to my query, but the other lodge in my city cordially invited me to come over one night and meet a few of the brothers.



I recognized the lodge building from having driven past it many times without much as a second glance. It was not quite as impressive architecturally as the other one in my city, but it was the one who contacted me. When I arrived I was greeted by three middle aged men who warmly welcomed me and ushered me into their lodge. This being my first time inside of a lodge, I was impressed with the grandeur of the interior. It contained ornate wood chairs and benches with blue cushions, banners and other masonic stuff with a look of dignified antiquity. They brought me to the East and we all sat down on a bench to the right of the Oriental Chair. They asked me about myself and my interest in the fraternity. I explained my situation, and they explained to me allot of stuff that I had already read about the fraternity. When I asked about the other lodge in town, the one that I had driven by and was obsessed with, they explained that it was a fine lodge and that many in their lodge were also members of that lodge and vice-versa. After we finished talking, they presented me with a petition and a informative pamphlet about Freemasonry. The man who had contacted me and led the meeting, turned out to be the Worshipful Master of the lodge and explained to me that I could petition whichever lodge I chose, and no matter where I decided to go I would receive the same quality experience. I left the meeting with a good feeling of brotherhood that I had not felt since my time in the Navy.


I was in a bit of an awkward situation. Even after my meeting with the one lodge and its members, who were very nice and welcoming, I still felt a pull to the other lodge in my city that I had originally driven by. Not only did they meet in that building that I couldnt get out of my head, it was a very old lodge steeped in history, so even though I felt as if I would be betraying the men who made the effort to reach out to me, I decided to petition the other lodge, my love of history overrode my feelings of loyalty to the men who I had met.


When I emailed the WM that I had met with my decision, he immediatly set up an interview with the other lodge. He said he could not be there for the meeting but that I should walk in before their meeting and ask for the WM and Chaplain who were great guys. I was finally going to get into that lodge that I had driven past on that dark and stormy night months before!


When I pulled up to the the old brownstone building, I noticed ornate stained glass windows that I had not noticed before because they were not lit from within as they were as I pulled up. The windows had many symbols, a large square and compass, an anchor, a broken pillar, a beehive many symbols I recognized from my Internet investigation of Freemasonry. It is a beautiful building from the outside at night. I walked in and heard some voices down a flight of stairs and proceeded towards them. At the bottom of the stairs I saw a group of men in tuxedos conversing around a table. One of the group noticed me, waved me over and introduced me to everyone present. Again I was greeted with great warmth from all. The man who noticed me introduced himself as the Chaplain and asked the Worshipful Master to accompany us upstairs to talk.


The inside of the lodge room did not let me down. Walking past a 15 foot column with a globe on top we entered into a grand lodge room with a cathedral ceiling painted with gold stars above us. Lined up on the chairs that went down the side of the room were beautiful satin trimmed aprons and officers jewels that the Chaplain explained to me were a gift to the lodge from a visiting brother years ago. They were preparing for a degree that evening and had all the accoutrement's ready to go. We sat down and they interviewed me which again went well and said that they would vote on me during the next meeting and would let me know the outcome.


I will spare you all of the rest of the story. There are plenty of degree by degree stories elsewhere on the Internet that are all very interesting but much of the same.


That was all over one year ago and I am now the Senior Steward of that lodge with plenty of thoughts of Freemasonry to share in the future.

Why I Knocked

I have been a voracious reader my whole life and have crammed a lot of life experience into my short 33 years on this planet. I have worked many trades and made many friends along the way, when I first knocked upon the door of Freemasonry.

My first cognizant recollection of Freemasonry is of a friend of mine in the Navy who planned to join the Fraternity when he got out of the service. His plan was to hike the Appalachian Trail, grow a beard to his chest and be a 32° Mason by the time he finished. We had been discussing the solution to life's questions over way too many Guinnesses and I remember asking him, in ignorance, why he wanted to join an Anti-Catholic organization. I don't remember where or when I gathered that info on Freemasonry, but sometime during my Irish Catholic rearing I must of heard that statement, and at the all knowing age of 19 shot that opinion at my friend. He said that he was pretty sure that that was not true, and as far as I know (because after the service we never kept in touch), went on with his plan. Even after all of my heady pleading that night.

I have always been an avid reader. My love of reading began in Junior High School when I read "The Island" by Gary Paulsen. It was a very introspective book for a teenager and began my lifelong search for the answers to the bigger questions in life and my appetite for reading. In High School I read every Tom Clancy novel which explains my stint in the U.S. Navy but much of my taste in reading revolved around History and Philosophy. I read many books that touched on Freemasonry but I never paid the subject much attention.

It wasn't until a really hard time in my life, while watching one of those wonderful History Channel exposés on The Craft, that something made me run to the computer to do one of my routine Google searches on a subject that had piqued my interest. That something, was one of those great sinister sounding lists of men in history who were Freemasons, including many of the Founding Fathers of the country I love. I wanted to know more about a fraternity whose membership included such a diverse spectrum of men. I didn't know any Freemasons so I turned to the only place in my living room to find out more, the Internet.

Luckily the first thing that comes up on a Google search of "Freemasons" is the Wikipedia article on the subject. It was quite informative and had links to the Grand Lodges of every State. I then went to the Grand Lodge of Connecticut's website and found out there was a lodge right in the city where I lived, in fact there were two! I found an excuse to leave the house and took a ride down to the closest one to where I lived.

It was a dark and stormy night when I drove past the lodge, nothing ominous just a low pressure system passing through. I had to go by twice because the building whose address matched what I was looking for was an old brownstone church, nothing like the Knights of Columbus Hall I spent time in my youth with my father. Yet it had to be the lodge because it had an old, weather beaten Square and Compass hanging on a post in the front yard. I have to admit at that point my curiosity became something much more than passing. I went home and started researching Freemasonry with much more vigor than before.

I read everything I could find on the Internet about it. Everything from the kook anti-mason sites, to Grand Lodges websites from every state in the union and far beyond. I was surprised to find out there was so much stuff to learn about something I had barely heard anything about my entire life. I asked my Father what he knew about Freemasons and he said that he had heard of them but, did not know any, or anything about what they do. I received the same response from most of my friends and family which I thought was quite odd. I found this odd because, according to the conspiracy sites, this secret society actually ruled the world from some underground lair, so someone I knew should have heard something about them. Yet when I asked people about Freemasons I usually received a blank stare and a look of "I understand the words you are saying (Free Mason)but not how, or why they go together". Another response was "yes, I know someone who can rebuild your stone wall, but he works for money". I received my first positive response from my Father in law down South, who said he knew a few Freemasons but did not know much about what they did.


I didn't let any of this deter me because, from what I had read about Freemasonry, it seemed to me to be a reputable organization with many good aspects I could easily see myself adopting. I even learned that the Shriners, an organization I saw every year driving their mini-cars in the St. Patrick's Day Parade were all Masons! Who knew! I always thought they were just a bunch of nice old men in funny hats that gave allot of money to sick kids.


What most intrigued me about Freemasonry was that it was (according to the stuff I read) still practiced the same way as it has been for 300 years, which appealed to my love of history. It was still an initiatory, esoteric society of men seeking to better themselves, which appealed to my philosophic nature. I have to admit that there was not one argument or outrageous statement on any of the "anti" websites that outweighed everything I had read about Freemasonry on the rest of the web. So, after much careful thought and a long conversation with my wife, I decided that I had garnered enough positive information about the fraternity to freely and voluntarily submit myself to the mysteries of Masonry. It was time for me to knock.