Masonic Musings from ME!

“Apparently, Brethren, we’re in a bunch of muck now. It’s all my fault – and I want to apologize.” The words of the Master to the assembled officers at their monthly meeting drew looks of confusion from everyone in the room. They looked to one another in askance and then turned to the speaker. No one had a clue…. “Last week, acting independently, I decided that we might want a little more publicity for the Men’s Health Screening Clinic that our Masonic District sponsors, so I printed off a few notices and posted them in several of the local variety stores that I pass on my daily commute. They all have bulletin boards so it just seemed appropriate. In fact, one store owner asked me for an extra one to paste right on their front door – and even asked me about joining Freemasonry. Last night on my way home, though, I stopped to pick up a few things at one of the stores and found a guy in there literally screaming at those entering to look at how the evil Freemasons were taking over the world – and they…. we, I guess…. were now going to use health care to subvert the country.” The Master looked down at the floor dejectedly.

“No good deed goes unpunished.” The Senior Warden chimed in with an upbeat voice.

“Who was this character? Do you know?” asked the Secretary. “Did the folks at the store know what was going on?”

“I went inside and the cashier was joking with another customer about him. Apparently he’s a fellow from the community who lives alone and is known for his erratic behavior. The clerk and the customer laughed about him – but then something even more ominous happened. The customer, a man in his mid-40s I’d guess, started telling the clerk how the Freemasons were an evil bunch. He claimed he’d been a member for a bunch of years but they’d all turned out to be liars and cheats so he quit. The cashier knows me and knows I’m a Mason but she had to listen as he ranted on. After he’d spent a couple of minutes trying to impress her with how important he’d been in the organization, she told him that as a child she’d been burned terribly and had been taken to a Shriners burns hospital. That shut him up fast and he exited quickly. I just stared at her. She’s seen me wearing our lodge’s ball cap and jacket before so she knew I was a Mason. She smiled and said ‘I never did tell you about that, did I?’ She was clearly embarrassed by what had just happened. The man who’d been outside was still there and the guy who’d been at the counter was now with him. They were talking up a storm when I drove out of the parking lot.”

“Sounds like they belong together. Maybe they can start their own lodge….” added the Senior Steward. The Master’s demeanor showed that these attempts to lighten the tone were useless.

The Secretary leaned back and jutted his chin forward. “Was this customer a sort of short guy, bulky looking, thinning sandy hair and glasses?”

The Master’s eyes opened wide and he stared at the Secretary for a moment before answering. “Yes…. Yes, you’ve described him very well. Do you know this guy?”

“As you know, Worshipful, for several years I’ve been on the Grand Lodge Committee that reviews the actions of the Grand Master. This fellow came before us a few years ago to rail about the then Grand Master. While it seemed like the GM might have handled one or two things differently in retrospect, this guy was out for blood and wouldn’t stop at anything to get it. He also seemed to us to be more intent on letting all of us know how important HE was compared with everything else. It’s a sad case of someone looking for revenge.”

“Wait a minute!” said the Junior Steward. “Does this guy belong to a lodge near here?”

“He did.” replied the Secretary.

“I’ve seen him too, believe it or not. When I was visiting the other night there was some strange guy sitting in a car across the street just staring at everyone who went in. I thought he was casing cars for a robbery so I called the police. They showed up a couple of minutes later and he moved on. Man, this guy’s a former Mason and he’s stalking us now?”

There was silence in the room. Each man went through a whole series of emotions relative to the whole matter. It was The Old Webmaster who then spoke:

“Brethren, I’ve seen similar things occur in online venues involving Freemasonry and, in fact, similar tales told. I’ve come to the conclusion that those who want to mock or denigrate Freemasonry – even the precious few who were part of our friendship and fellowship who’ve decided that they know better than anyone else how things should be done – are really just souls looking for someone, anyone, to pay attention to them. They don’t get it anywhere else in their lives and those who were Masons didn’t get enough of it from us to make them happy. Something has kept them from achieving whatever it was they need to feel fulfilled. Why would people back in London in the early 1700s, for example, choose to take the time and effort to march in a parade to mock the Masons? I wish I could figure it out but it seems to me there are always those who’d rather curse the darkness than light a candle.”

Those in the room again allowed their thoughts to turn inward. They all knew someone who, if given a bag of gold bars, would complain that it was too heavy.

“I probably shouldn’t tell you what I said to that clerk before I left the store though.” The Master broke the silence tentatively. “The lady behind the counter was clearly upset after she’d benefited so much from the kindness of Masonic strangers as a young child. I told her that the fellow who’d been in front of me in line reminded me of that line in Macbeth: ‘it is a tale, Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.’ She smiled and patted my hand as she gave me my change. She had tears in her eyes….”

“I think the Master had a GREAT idea with this poster thing. Can we get some more of them and maybe the rest of us can get them into the convenience stores in our areas?” The Senior Warden’s eyes met those of the Master which were starting to well up with moisture, filled with appreciation and affection.

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