Entered apprentice

I am writing this just before i go home. Tonight I am going to the lodge to be a candidate for the entered apprentice degree of freemasonry. I cannot tell you how excited I am. I am eager in anticipation to not only go through this degree and get all of this started, but to also be involved with some great men working hard to do even greater things. I am looking forward to being supported by them as I do my best and I look forward to helping them in anyway I can. I spoke with my 2nd cousin last night on the phone. He has been and continues to be one of the greatest of encouragements to me. I called him to let him know that the time had come and I would be going to the lodge the next night. He as he always does, encouraged me by telling me that i would benefit from it and that I would make a fine addition to the fraternity. He has always had kind words when others did not. I told him how much I appreciate him. This fraternity has caused me to already be a better man by sharing my feelings with a man I respect not because he is a mason but because he acts like one. And always has.

The journey begins

I received a call today that was so exciting I could hardly wait to tell anyone. The Master of the Lodge called to let me know that the 9th of January had been chosen for me to receive the Entered Apprentice degree at 7pm. I did not hear the phone ring in the car but was alerted to the VM. I called the Master of the Lodge immediately but the line was busy. Nuts! I was so excited to talk to someone. I called my friend Ken who is sponsoring me for canidacy and let him know that the day we thought was going to be it was in fact IT. After getting off of the phone with him I called my buddy Dick who is a member of another lodge but expressed interest in being present for my degree work. He too was excited and said he will be there. I am pumped. I am so ready to do this. I have been getting ready for it for a long time and am out of my skin excited with anticipation. I plan to continue to post here about my experiences as they unfold.

Becoming a mason

So recently, I have put into action, thoughts that I have had and been contemplating for quite some time. (nearly twenty years) I have submitted a petition to join the John W. Durst #716 Lodge of the Free & Accepted Masons. I have wanted to become a mason for about as long as I can remember. A number of influential men in my life have been masons, and it seems that a number of my past family members have been as well. It is my understanding that following the lodge meeting of last week when my name was presented, I will soon be contacted by some of the brothers from the lodge for an interview. Then I am voted on and begin the working part of the process. I hope to relate a few of my experiences here as time passes. I am very excited and looking forward to working with sch a great group of men.