The Tao of Masonry

For several years now I’ve gone to Grand Lodge sessions, and each time I’m amazed that a majority of the people attending get there just a few minutes early, and then leave as soon as the gavel bangs the meeting closed. Okay, I’ve never been much of a fan of sitting in meetings, especially meetings in which other people do the talking. In fact, I can imagine that for a lot of people, Grand Lodge sounds like this:

“Blah blah blah… declare the session open … blah blah blah… welcome to the two hundred and mumblety mumbleth annual… blah blah blah… welcome the Past Grand … blah blah blah… presentation by Masonicare… blah blah blah… elections for the next year… blah blah blah… the proposed budget includes … blah blah blah… lack of membership… blah blah blah… new programs will include… blah blah blah… show our appreciation to … blah blah blah… results of the voting… blah blah blah… congratulations to … blah blah blah… please inform the Grand Tyler… blah blah blah… Thank you all for coming.”  BANG

Even though it ended a half hour earlier than anyone had expected, some people zoomed out of there so quickly that I thought we were serving free donuts in the lobby.

I don’t get that. For me, the best part about Grand Lodge is the hour before and the hour after the actual meeting; this is the time to get together with people that you don’t normally see every month, to renew old acquaintances, and to hear about what’s happening in other lodges and in other parts of the state. There are not a lot of ways that the Grand Lodge can communicate ideas about its various programs until after they are instituted – which, to my way of thinking – is usually to late. People on various committees who talk about new ideas with the Craft are in a position to get input. The flip side, of course, is that the Craft – that’s you and me – manages to have some input at the planning stage. And, this is the opportunity to meet those junior Grand Lodge officers who are going to be leading the Craft one day.

Additionally, I get to see other District Grand Lecturers so that we can complain discuss the issues in our districts. I have also found that there are a number of old-timers who are full of ideas and opinions – but good ones – and I enjoy talking to them and getting some feedback. And truth be told, I also enjoy listening to the latest gossip news about various lodges and officers and the people I’ve met.

In current business parlance, this is known as “networking.” Now, networking has developed a bad rep, mainly because people imagine a room full of insurance brokers and used car salesmen who are trying to get you to buy something that you don’t want. But consider: we explain to our Fellowcrafts that the pillars representing  Strength and Establishment are adorned with net work because it represents “unity.” And truly, how can we have unity – that is, a cohesive Craft – if members on one end of the state don’t know (or don’t care) what is happening at the other end?

When talking with a few other brothers after the meeting, it came up that very few people had – according to the poll on the Grand Lodge website – visited lodges outside of Connecticut. That led another wag to note that most Masons don’t even visit other lodges inside Connecticut.

Brothers – what’s up with that?

Before a member is even raised, we are talking to him about visiting other lodges. “Wait until you’re a Master Mason,” we love to tell them. “You’ll go to all those other lodges and see how other people do things,” we explain. It’s as if other lodges are foreign countries. In fact, part of our degree ceremonies here in Connecticut do allude to traveling in foreign parts, and how that is one of the benefits of being a Master Mason.

So why do so few of us actually take advantage of that privilege?

Sure, sometimes there is a time factor. Many of us barely make time for our own lodges, even when we know what the schedule will be. Members with a family – or a life – are already juggling evenings off. In my own family, my daughter has music lessons, Girl Scouts, and tutoring, my wife has church meetings, and I have a few non-Masonic duties each month, and I imagine that many families are not much different.

Yet I’m still amazed at the number of masons that I talk to who have never – as in, you know, never - visited another lodge. Others have gone once or twice, but “not in years,” or only for some special program. Simple curiosity isn’t enough to get somebody out of the house and into another lodge once or twice a year?

The underlying attitude that puzzles me – actually, that bothers me – is that too often I get the impression that many members forget that we are all part of a larger organization. I understand that some members feel very strongly connected to their own lodge, and that could possibly be a reason that they do not have much interest in the lodges around them. But still, why bother even mentioning “the ability to travel” if you are not going to avail yourself of the opportunity?

For that matter, why not simply remain a Fellowcraft?

The phone calls always start off the same way.

“Tom, I know that it’s short notice, but. . .”

It’s September, so the next round of Ritual Certifications has begun.

In my slice of Connecticut, it’s typical for a lodge to have a “move up” night in which the Junior Warden takes the East for an EA degree, and the Senior Warden does so for an FC degree. Typically, I see this happening in the Fall, which presumably allows time for the JW to learn the part and get comfortable. I have seen a few lodges in which the JW always does an EA, and the SW does the FC degrees, but that arrangement bothers me. In the last decade, too many officers find themselves in the South after only a few years; they’ve barely committed a charge or a lecture to memory. In my opinion, the EA degree is a new brother’s first introduction to Masonry, and it sets the tone for the rest of his Masonic life. I know that a lot of my brothers like to see impressive MM degrees, but if the EA isn’t awesome, then what is going to motivate your new brother to come back and get involved?

Anyway, my answer to them is usually the same. Yes, of course I’ll come to your degree and do your ritual certification. Would you like me to come to the degree itself, or are you really nervous and would prefer that we do this at a rehearsal? Would you like me to come for the rehearsal and the degree? I’m happy to oblige; that’s why I get the big bucks corn, wine, and oil.

The next question is usually the same, too.

“Umm. . . what is it that I need to know for this?”

::headdesk::

Simple. You need to open the lodge in full form, receive a dignitary, go to refreshment, come back to labor, and then close in full form.

“What if I don’t have any dignitary?”

What am I, chopped liv. . . Look, let’s pretend that I’m a dignitary in case a real one doesn’t show up.

“Is it okay if somebody else does the Obligation?”

As long as they do it well. All I need to see is that you can open and close a lodge properly.

“Oh, and by the way. . .”

Yes, I’ll do the charge if your regular guy can’t make it.

Since most lodges are anxious to get back to work after the summer, there are a few EA Degrees in September. I will have seen four or five over the next week or so, which means that communication with my family will be primarily by email, phone calls, and notes taped to the lawn shed, which is where I’ll probably be sleeping by the end of the month.

We had an EA at Friendship on Wednesday, and another on at Sequin-Level on Thursday. Sequin-Level has an abundance of candidates, and they will be having another EA on Friday. Then on Monday, I’m off to Silas Deane, and (finally!) Tuesday I’ll be at Fredrick-Franklin.

Wednesday, I’m taking off to rest up for the rest of the week. No, wait – I can’t.

On Wednesday, Friendship Lodge will start getting ready for the annual Southington Apple Harvest Festival, at which we set up a food booth for our main fundraising event of the year. It takes several days to set up the tents, put down the floor, move the refrigerators and grilltops outside, and get the gas and power hooked up. By Friday evening, we’ll be ready to serve up some Philly steak sandwiches and some tasty fried apple wedgies to the hungry hordes.

On Thursday of that week, we hope to get as many brothers as possible over to Unity 148 in New Britain for our scheduled Blue Lodge Council district meeting, at which we will get to hear one of the great Masonic dummies authors of our times, Brent Chris Hodapp, who will be telling stories, swapping jokes, and entertaining the Craft, while hopefully selling a few books.

And while Saturday will be the first full day of the Apple Fest, I’ll be down at the Warden’s Seminar in Ashlar Village for the morning, where I’ll be helping to present material about planning one’s year as a WM. We have revamped the entire Master’s Achievement Award to make it more like a yearly calendar, which should help new Masters to organize events and programs for their year.

Sunday the 28th will be the Apple Fest Parade, and you can’t have a parade without the Masons marching by in their tuxedos, smiling and waving at the crowd. Parade day is usually a good day for sandwich and wedgie sales, so we’re all hoping for excellent weather. I will have picked up 600 apples from a popular local orchard, and with any luck, we will be selling out by Sunday evening. Actually, with a real lot of luck, we will sell out on Saturday, and I’ll have to get more.

The next week is a little lighter, with a couple of lodge meetings, and then the Apple Fest madness starts up again on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, I’ll be at the seminar that we run for the incoming Wardens, and then back to help peel more apples and sell more sandwiches. No parade on the next day, but the nice weather will hopefully bring a lot of people out to see the dozens of craft booths that will be lining the streets. Sunday night we will finally break down the equipment and clean the grill for the last time.

If we have planned it right, we have just enough steak left over to make dinner for our Trowel Club meeting on that Monday night. We don’t need much, because by that time, most of us are sick of shaved steak and apples. And since some of us practically live at the lodge during that week, we’ll all be happy to finally have an evening in our own shed home.

This District Grand Lecturer position is a totally sweet gig. All I’m actually required to do is make sure that the incoming Master of a lodge passes a ritual test, and at rare times, oversee a little written test on the Grand Lodge rules and regulations. In Connecticut, most lodges have their installations from December to January; human nature being what it is, this means that I would be at my most busiest toward the end of the Masonic year as I do the certifications during October and November. The rest of the year I am free to spend on loose cars and fast women, while basking in the fame and glory.

Well, I suppose I could if I really wanted to.

A while back I had a discussion with a brother who insisted that the District Lecturers were unnecessary, and that the simple requirements could easily be done by the District Deputies or their Associate Grand Marshals. And indeed, he’s quite correct; the position as it now stands does not require much work, and carries very little authority. I’ll be the first to admit that almost anyone could handle the minimum requirements. Hell, they asked me, didn’t they?

But why would anyone want only the minimum requirements?

Over the last year, several lodges have asked me to help them polish their ritual proficiency and floorwork, and so I spend most of my time at lodges reviewing degree work, and at rehearsals, giving tips, making suggestions, and (hopefully) inspiring new officers to be better by coaching them along. Not surprisingly, this is exactly how I was taught in my own lodge by experienced Past Masters.

Recently, the Master-elect at one of my lodges asked if I would be willing to help out at their degree rehearsals. As it turns out, all of the junior officers are new guys, and the Wardens are not Past Masters. You might think that this would have been a challenge, but in fact, I was thrilled to see that all of the officers put in a lot of work to learn their parts in such a short amount of time. It’s really a good feeling to be around men who take pride in their work and who want to make an impression on the candidates. We spent a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon going over floorwork, coordinating the parts, and rehearsing lines. As it turns out, this was also helpful brush-up for the new Master who hadn’t done an EA degree in 28 years.

The result was a very fine degree two nights later, and a group of very proud officers. They’re so pumped that they’ve scheduled another EA degree for mid-February. Considering that this lodge had been having some difficulties over the past few years, it’s heartening to see that things are turning around for them.

That lodge joins my affiliate lodge in the ranks of those who are making concerted efforts to improve the quality of their ritual and degree work by setting higher expectations for the officers, scheduling one or more rehearsals for each degree, and having back-up plans in case of last-minute emergencies.

Each lodge is responsible for their own degree work. Unfortunately, many junior officers have not seen good degree work modeled for them, and so aren’t able to pass on those good habits when they become senior officers. Connecticut typically runs one ritual seminar per year… at least, they used to. We stopped even that for a few years when the District Grand Lecturer system was put into place, in essence taking away the one opportunity that many officers had to learn. Last year, the Lecturers got together with the Committee on Masonic Education to put on the first ritual seminar in four years – and it attracted over a hundred Masons from around the state, plus another few dozen purple aprons. The feedback was so positive that we’ve scheduled another one, to be held in February.

I think that’s great.

I also think that it’s not enough.

And this bring me back to the point about the necessity of the District Lecturers. Some of us have held “mini-seminars,” inviting the officers around the district to an evening of instruction, held at a particular lodge. I’ve been working with one lodge at a time at rehearsals, believing that it’s better to work with officers in smaller groups. Either way, we all believe that it’s important to address the ritual issues, and having one or two officers in each district dedicated to Masonic education and instruction seems like a better approach than waiting until an officer is ready to be elected to the East.

Many jurisdictions have appointed officers to oversee ritual instruction, but how they handle it varies widely. Some have an appointed person in each lodge, so that there is always one authority on what to do (or not) at every rehearsal. I like that idea because it prevents the multiple cross-feedback loops that new officers get when two or more Past Masters have varying ideas of how things should be done, and spend half the rehearsal arguing over why their way is better or how they never did something that way before.

Anyway, they asked me if I’d be interested in doing this gig again next year. Of course, I agreed; It’s just too sweet to pass up.

Tao of Masonry | Freemasonry | Masonry

Apparently, people around Connecticut who know me are saying to themselves “Well, if that bozo can blog, then so can I!”

Yes, Masons in the Nutmeg State (and when the hell are we going to get rid of that ridiculous nickname? Nutmeg was never grown in this state.) now have one more alternative to me and Moveable Jewel: Masonic Renaissance, a blog run by one of my Very Worshipful counterparts in the southern part of the state. I know it’s going to be good because he’s the guy behind the Masonic Scavenger Hunt.

The aim of Masonic Renaissance is to present ideas for lodges that are seeing a resurgence or an increase in membership. While he’s just getting it off the ground, so to speak, I’m sure that it’s going to be a great resource for officers and interested members.

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I love it when a plan comes together. But I love it even more when a half-baked idea manages to become a plan that comes together.

A few months ago, Worshipful Marshal Dave was bemoaning the fact that we had either too many candidates or not enough degrees planned. See, in Connecticut, we can bring in up to five candidates at a time. This makes sense when you consider the small size of some of those old lodge rooms. I thought that Friendship Lodge was on the small side, but I have visited lodges in which even three candidates would be a tight squeeze.

But “too many” candidates? Not literally so, but from the last couple of months of my year until this posting, we’ve had a fantastic number of inquiries; if I recall correctly we have between fifteen and twenty men who have petitioned or have received one or more degree. I would like to say that it is because they’ve all researched Masonry on the internet, found my blog and decided that they simply had to join Friendship lodge.

I would like to say that. However, the truth is more like they stumbled across The Tao of Masonry after they contacted our lodge and I bribed, shamed, or coerced them into reading. But hey, it all adds to my hit count…

Anyway, a few months ago, after listening to the moaning of WM Dave, a few of the old has-beens Past Masters thought that it would be a great idea to put on a show have a degree in which the regular officers could take a break, while the PMs and other egomaniacs older members take over the degree work. WM Dave, grasping at straws taking advantage of the opportunity asked WB. Richie to handle it. Richie immediately contacted a slew of other egomaniacs PMs (yours truly included) and spread the word. Richie and I are affiliate members of Sequin-Level Lodge (where he is also a PM), and he also tried to get some of the members of that lodge involved. We scheduled the degree for Saturday, May 19th; we wanted to start in the late morning so we could have a picnic lunch and then go back to the second part of the degree, the Hiramic drama.

It takes a lot of manpower to properly do the Hiramic drama, and in this neck of the woods the call usually goes out to a few other lodges to see if any bodies are available. But the other option is to call the guys at Frederick-Franklin lodge, because they have an actual “team” that specializes in doing the Craftsmen/Workers/Ruffian parts. In fact, I asked them myself last year; it’s a treat to watch their work, which is almost choreographed. The team has a nice set of costumes, and they rehearse the parts well.

They were also doing their own degree on that same Saturday morning.

If Friendship hadn’t already five candidates, we would probably have combined the degrees, but as Frederick-Franklin had two of their own, there was no way that could happen. After a bit of brainstorming, though, somebody came up with the idea of Friendship doing the first part of the degree, and then bringing the candidates up to Plainville for the last part. Frederick-Franklin uses an exemplar in the extended version of the drama, so the new brothers would not have to actually participate; this seemed to work around the five maximum rule, and more importantly, it would allow the new brothers to see some inspiring degree work. This required three weeks of missed phone calls and misunderstood emails in order to coordinate brothers of four different lodges in the Fifth District, and I only mention this for the benefit of non-Masons who still believe that we are secretly controlling the international banking cartels. But somehow we managed to get our collective acts together; the brothers at Frederick-Franklin were happy to accommodate us, and we agreed to bring some refreshments along.

May 19th was a wonderful late spring day in New England, and except for the Junior Warden, I don’t think any of the the officer’s chairs were filled by the regular crew. We obligated five Master Masons in a solemn ceremony that took us until just after noon, and several of the sitting officers carpooled up to the lodge in Plainville, while I stayed behind to close up. Everyone had sandwiches and chips – not exciting, but quite appropriate for the picnic theme. I got there just as the second part of the degree was starting, and sat in the northeast corner with WB Richie and the rest of the candidates.

It seems that no degree would be complete if at least one thing didn’t come off as planned, and in this case it seemed that Frederick-Franklin was lacking the regular Stewards to do the first section lectures (In Connecticut, these are often nicknamed the Steward’s Lecture). Fortunately, we had two brothers – literally – able to step up to the challenge. Bro. Eric is our Junior Warden, and his younger brother Kyle is currently out Junior Steward. They took a few minutes to refresh their memories, and despite the fact that Kyle had never done this part for an MM degree, it came off nearly flawless.

The Hiramic drama has been a part of the MM degree since the mid-1700s, and every jurisdiction has their own twist on it. In Connecticut, our ritual has a bare-bones drama that is required, but some lodges augment their MM degree with an extended version that resembles a play. It contains some background which helps the new MM to understand the morals and teaching of the degree. Both Friendship and Frederick-Franklin lodges utilize such extended versions, but last year, Frederick-Franklin added yet another section, called “The Builder’s Lodge” which gives even more background, and a great understanding to the legend of Hiram Abiff. This was the first time I had seen it in full costume, and I have to admit that I was impressed almost to the point of being awed. One of the brothers – a ritual junkie like yours truly – found an old version that they reworked for their lodge. Without giving too many details, it shows a meeting called by King Solomon, King Hyram of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff (the last such meeting that they will have together) and what transpired so as to motivate Hiram Abiff to act the way he does.

The seven candidates were almost as awed as I was, and watched with fascination as the drama unfolded. All had been through the short version, and could now see the degree exemplified, which gave meaning to what they had undergone earlier. After the well-deserved congratulations on all sides, we closed the meeting and went back downstairs to finish the sandwiches and chips. I would urge any brother from Connecticut to check the Frederick-Franklin calendar to see when their next MM degree is held so they can also see this new addition, and experience some of the finest degree work in the state.

Tao of Masonry | Freemasonry | Masonry

As with many people running family businesses, I don’t remember any point at which I knew that I was the boss. My father did not retire in the conventional sense, he simply came in less and less frequently, while I gradually took on more and more responsibilities. All I remember is that one day it dawned on me that I was no longer the first person to know what was going on in the shop, and that, in fact, I was frequently discovering that I was becoming the last person to know many things.

Not so, however, the Master of a lodge.

Last year, they warned me that it didn’t matter how much I thought I was doing as the Senior Warden; the very day of my installation I would suddenly have dozens of people asking me everything imaginable, and then some. Also, when people said “Hey Worshipful, where/when/how do you want this?” that I was going to keep looking around for my predecessor, simply because it would take about three months to get used to the title.

They weren’t kidding.

In Conn, like in many US states, the Installation of Officers can be a semi-public event, in which wives and significant others, family, old friends, etc., are invited. First-time Masters generally have a dinner or cocktail reception afterwards, and since my wife owed me for five years of church dinners, I drafted her. Actually, we work well together doing these kinds of events, so it was fun. We’d spent the eveing before setting up tables and cleaning, and the morning of my installation I was down at the lodge getting other things ready. For some reason, we never bother with schedules or sign-up sheets at Friendship, people usually tend to show up early to kibbitz and lend a hand. At some point I must have betrayed my nervousness, because one of the Past Masters handed me a small glass of irish whiskey, with an order to use it to calm my nerves. I went home, had a relaxing shower and changed into my tuxedo.

At two o’clock, I was ready.

At three o’clock, the Grand Master stopped into the ceremonies. He apologized for being late, apparently he’d written the time down wrong.

At four o’clock, I was shooing the public downstairs to enjoy the nibbly things, while we closed things up formally.

By five o’clock, my ears were ringing. “Hey, Worshipful!” “Oh, Worshipful Master?” “Congratulations, Worshipful!” “”Get you another drink, Worshipful?” “Great party, Worshipful.” “Where do we get more napkins, Worshipful?” “Worshipful, I think we’re out of pickles.” “Worshipful, the Grand Master is pulling somebody’s dues card for adding Coke to his single-malt scotch.” “Did you send out the new trestleboards, Worshipful?”

Anybody who has been the master of a lodge probably knows exactly what I’m talking about. Zero to sixty in record time. And it took about two months before I stopped looking around for my predecessor Honorable George when I heard the words. But oddly, by summer it began to feel like a comfortable old nickname.

A member of another lodge, Ralph once said “Out of all the men I’ve seen assume the mantle, it seemed to fall on you rather easily.” I explained that as the owner of a small business, I’m accustomed to people asking me to look at this or solve that on a daily basis. But unlike at work, I could afford to be more relaxed at the lodge; not careless, but secure in the knowledge that a mistake in ritual, that being short a couple of dinners or forgetting to introduce a visitor was not going to cost me thousands of dollars or get anyone hurt or killed. More importantly, people were there not because they had to be, but because they wanted to be. It’s difficult to describe how it feels to be, not the “boss”, but rather, simply the guy in charge of a group of other guys who are already enjoying themselves.

New Marshal in the East
Click the pic to see the online album

All of this is in retrospect, of course. On Sunday the 7th, my successor, Marshal Dave – the best Senior Warden this side of the Pecos – was installed, and I’m sure his own ears were ringing by the end of the evening.

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I would like to say, with all due modesty, of course, that I was invited to sit on an important Grand Lodge committee the other day. In fact, I’d also like to think that I was asked because the other members desired to hear my input, and respect my keen insights and quick wit. In fact, literally half the people recognized me and called me in to sit down.

Yeah, well, I’d like to say that. Unfortunately, it’s much more likely that I was asked because I happened to stick my head into a room in which there were only 2 people, one of whom knew me and wondered what the hell I was doing wandering around the building.

Good thing I’ve got a pretty good imagination to make up for my lack of ego, huh?

As it happened, I was looking for another committee meeting which I had thought was in that room. Having nothing better to do for a couple of hours, I sat in on this one, increasing the membership by 50%, as summer vacations and functions of appendant orders caused most of the other members to be absent that day. The Chair introduced me to the other member, a relatively new Mason who was trying to help re-write some of the new GL rules that this year’s Most Worshipful wanted to implement.

As I listened to the changes and the reasons for them, I began to think about that old quote attributed to Otto von Bismark about laws and sausages, and how it’s best not to see either of them in the making. Some of the discussion involved not only interpreting what the GM would want, but also trying to implement the new regulations in such a way as to not cause hard feelings for people in other positions who might be affected, nor to make it difficult for those who need to implement the rules, nor to cause people not even connected with the section to feel slighted.

Feel slighted? Hey, we’re all Masons, right? We’re all working for a common cause, right? Anyone would immediately look beyond their own area to see how it impacted the greater good of the Craft, right?

Yes, I’m a new Mason. Does it still show?

Freemasonry is an organization run on volunteer efforts, but like any organization there is a political component that one must understand. I’m using the word “political” in its widest sense; any organization with more than two people needs to take into account the strengths and weaknesses of its various members and apply them where most appropriate. The problems come in when some of the members need extra incentives or motivations for doing the things that need doing: some members want to feel that they’ve made an important contribution and want to be recognized for that. This in itself isn’t the problem, the problem is how to recognize and reward those people. In a non-paying organization, recognition and awards are often the currency, the speculative wages, if you will.

Before I joined the fraternity, I used to volunteer time, money, and energy to other causes, some of which would recognize my input with dinners or plaques. I pointedly told one chairperson that my own time is valuable, and when I donate, I want all of it to go toward the organization, so please not to waste any of it by spending money on a plaque or a dinner for me. Hey, look, a couple of bucks on a fancy pen with the organization’s name on it is one thing; treating me to a $50 dinner or a $20 plaque is wasteful – in my opinion, of course.

But that’s me. Other people really cherish their name on a brass strip, or being called up for a photograph in front of a group of their peers. While I disdain publicity (yes, I know I’m writing a web log, so please shut up), I’m also not oblivious to the fact that some people will work like crazy for such compensation. A brother elsewhere has whispered good counsel in my ear, explaining that if someone is willing to pitch in all year long to get a project off the ground, or to set up booths, or to flip pancakes, and if all it takes is a $10 pin and his name in the paper, then what’s the problem? And in that light, I have to agree.

Because I own a business and am used to just running things my own way, I too often get focused on the process itself, instead of considering how the process affects the other people involved. This makes me a little too quick to plan things and get them started, and I find that I’ve needed to learn to take a step back and let other people haggle over some of the details for a bit. It gives them a sense of ownership and an opportunity to “buy in” to the project because they know that they’ve had some input. And don’t get me wrong – I truly feel that this is important, especially when all of those involved get only speculative wages. My own impatience when trying to figure out all the details is my problem, and because I’m ultimately more concerned with what makes the fraternity operate better, I’m trying to take more consideration for that.

And that brings me back to my sitting in on this committee meeting. It’s difficult enough to get people to help with some of the heavy lifting, so we need to be as accomodating and appreciative as possible for everyone who puts in an effort. I have this theory that out of the 16,000 Masons in Connecticut, only 1,600 show up at lodge meetings and other functions, and out of those, only 160 are probably doing the work to organize and make things run smoothly… or as smoothly as can be expected in our volunteer organization.

Oh, and did I mention the reason that I had popped my head into that particular room? I was looking for the committee that I actually serve on. Turns out I had the right room, but the wrong time. Well, more like wrong day. My own meeting was, er, an entire week later.

Volunteers, eh? I guess you get what you pay for.

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