In the meantime...

I am patiently waiting for the 22nd of May. I will be the first of two that evening to receive the third degree of Freemasonry. I have been the second for both of the preceding degrees and I was sure to give back my work first so as to ensure that I will be able to view the degree work for once before giving my memory work back two weeks later. Doing so has helped me in the past but I have had to come to lodge on a night that the degree was being administered. This meant for the Fellowcraft, I had to travel to another lodge. Not that this was unwelcome, I truly appreciated the opportunity to fellowship with other brethren. However, being able to see what I just went through that night will be very beneficial to me as that is my learning style.


So in the meantime, I have a few activities planned. I just picked up “The man who would be king” from the local library. That will surely satisfy my Masonic appetite for a few days at least. Secondly, I am headed up to the Ohio Masonic Home on the 8th of May for dinner and to see the past masters of the area put on a Fellowcraft for the resident brethren there. I have also been working on laying out the new webpage for our lodge as soon as I hear back from the webmaster for the state, I should be able to access the server to up load it. Our current page is well, not so current. All of this is designed to help me not go crazy by just looking at Masonic jewelry all the time as I wait for the 22nd of May.

Catchup

I have spent far more time in the last few days making this Blog look better than I have in the last two months writing for it. Since My last entry I have not only been made an Entered apprentice, but I have also given back my memory work or "proven up on it" as my cousin in Oklahoma says. I have also been passed to the degree of Fellowcraft in the fraternity and since given back my work for that degree. I am set to have the third degree conferred upon me on the 22nd of May.
I am excited to continue in the work but am even more motivated by the bond that I have felt with the good men of my lodge. I have formed friendships and associations that are enjoyable and stimulating. I have visited another lodge during this process and have discovered old friends that are members of this brotherhood. One, I went to high school with and even saw at the store two weeks before visiting his lodge for the inspection and then while I was there, I ran into two gentlemen my mother was acquainted with in my youth. It was all fascinating to me and resonated of the bond of brotherhood. I have built and strengthened a friendship with My friend Ken who signed my petition and has been working with me to learn the work. And foremost, I have reestablished a relationship with a cousin who is many years my senior and all the way in Oklahoma. He has honored me and my family with the Bible upon which he received his degrees and has strengthened me with his encouragement which is what he has always done.
I am so glad to be a part of this fraternity. I read all kinds of blogs and consume as many opinions and as much information on the subject as i am capable of doing. I look forward to the possibilities of meeting more and more of my brothers as I travel about from lodge to lodge and from page to page.