anybody a lodge member?

[SaucyJack 3487]

MS-14 here, holla.

Kinda like MS-13, but we go to 14.

[LonghornJones 835]

..year olds?

[El Diablo 4232]

When I was a kid I wanted to have a membership in Veronica Lodge.

[relapse98 634]

On 3/16/2019 at 10:53 AM, Sandman said:

I've thought about joining the Freemasons but I haven't been motivated enough to really look into it.

My wife's family is masonic going back generations. Her grandfather handed me a signed petition one time and said I might want to look into it. I was like, you betcha, filled that son of a bitch out and when we got back to town, promptly forgot about it for a few years.

[relapse98 634]

On 3/16/2019 at 11:58 AM, Murfdogg21 said:

I am a Freemason. There were a couple others on Shaggy as well. 

There are a few travelling men around.

[Trey3216 15325]

32 minutes ago, relapse98 said:

My wife's family is masonic going back generations. Her grandfather handed me a signed petition one time and said I might want to look into it. I was like, you betcha, filled that son of a bitch out and when we got back to town, promptly forgot about it for a few years.

I became one in 2011.  When I was a kid, I was treated at the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas for Legg-Perthes disease.  It was about a 4 year treatment process to get corrected, mostly via physical therapy (never had a surgery) but was oftentimes extraordinarily painful.  As I got older, I always said "I'd pay back the man that helped me get through it".  A bunch of my buddies were already Masons, and with quick research I realized that the Scottish Rite was a Masonic Body.   

So I went through my degrees, and joined both the Shrine and Scottish Rite.  I've been able to do a ton a volunteer work through both organizations to directly aid kids needing various forms of orthopedic and burn procedures.  We definitely have a good time while doing it, but hearing the stories of those you've directly helped is absolutely amazing.  

[HRSchenker 2259]

My grandpa and father are both Masons. I just didn't have any interest in it because none of the local lodge members were close to my age. Although I did enjoy picking up on the little secret code phrases they would use.

[relapse98 634]

1 hour ago, Trey3216 said:

When I was a kid, I was treated at the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas for Legg-Perthes disease.  It was about a 4 year treatment process to get corrected, mostly via physical therapy (never had a surgery) but was oftentimes extraordinarily painful.  As I got older, I always said "I'd pay back the man that helped me get through it".  A bunch of my buddies were already Masons, and with quick research I realized that the Scottish Rite was a Masonic Body.  

Awesome. We had a friend of ours who was in a bad car wreck when she was little and it messed up the growth plate in 1 leg. She would go up there about every 6 months to have another surgery, or stretching, or what not. That family is very happy the hospital exists.

I'm still just a PM of a blue lodge - never have branched out. I got busier with my kids and hobbies and after my year in the east, I took about 1.5 off to decompress.

The current Deputy GM is an alumni of the Masonic Home & School. I think this might be the first time an alumni has gone on to become the GM (assuming, but when was the last time they didn't make that jump) but I'm not 100% sure. Its a small group of alumni, and a much smaller group of GMs. This may be the only time it ever happens.

Edited March 18, 2019 by relapse98

[relapse98 634]

1 hour ago, HRSchenker said:

My grandpa and father are both Masons. I just didn't have any interest in it because none of the local lodge members were close to my age. Although I did enjoy picking up on the little secret code phrases they would use.

It's interesting the ages we see.  Our new guys run the gamut from mid 20s to I think I initiated a fellar the other day that was late 60s (and deaf as a doornail which made me want to throw shit when I should be concentrating on words words words).

Edited March 18, 2019 by relapse98

[Trey3216 15325]

8 minutes ago, relapse98 said:

It's interesting the ages we see.  Our new guys run the gamut from mid 20s to I think I initiated a fellar the other day that was late 60s (and deaf as a doornail which make me want to throw shit when I should be concentrating on words words words).

We've had about 30 guys under age 40 come into our lodge since I did.  Some have moved off due to job changes, but we have a pretty active lodge and the young guys definitely participate.  

[Murfdogg21 4412]

I’d say we initiate 1-2 per month and they range in age between 24 and 40. I was initiated in 2008 while in grad school because a couple friends were members of a historic lodge and I was really drawn to Freemasons’ influence on the American and Texan revolutions. Our membership average age keeps dropping because we keep losing the guys who are 70+ at a similar rate as we bring in guys in their late 20s to 30s. I need to affiliate with an Austin lodge and the Shrine here. 

[Steamboat1874 4037]

[relapse98 634]

Obviously wrong - way too many men wearing hats.

[Sbbruin 21782]

I'm a member of the He-Man Woman Haters Club.

[NWBuck 8548]

40 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

I'm a member of the He-Man Woman Haters Club.

I've shifted over to the Ancient And Honery Order Of Wood Chucks.

 

[El Diablo 4232]

For a number of years the Diablo family had an annual reunion at, of all places, an Odd Fellows Lodge hall. One of my uncles who I think was a Mason would tease us kids with stories about the goings on in such places including riding a goat around inside the building. Turned out he wasn't lying, much.

[Murfdogg21 4412]

On 3/18/2019 at 1:52 PM, relapse98 said:

I'm still just a PM of a blue lodge - never have branched out. I got busier with my kids and hobbies and after my year in the east, I took about 1.5 off to decompress.

I was in the same boat except I did join the Shriners right away. Just moved back to Houston and finally pulled the trigger on joining SR. It was a little strange since I’ve been a mason for 14 years and most of my fellow candidates had been masons for about 3 months. Receiving a degree from someone whose initiation you conferred a long time ago was also strange. 

[BabaYaga 15215]

Great G-father on Mom's side a 33 degree Mason.  Not sure exactly what this means outside of Dan Brown novels?

[Trey3216 15325]

48 minutes ago, Murfdogg21 said:

I was in the same boat except I did join the Shriners right away. Just moved back to Houston and finally pulled the trigger on joining SR. It was a little strange since I’ve been a mason for 14 years and most of my fellow candidates had been masons for about 3 months. Receiving a degree from someone whose initiation you conferred a long time ago was also strange. 

I did both SR and Shrine the week I turned my MM degree work in.  Will be WM next year at my lodge, and am very involved at the Shrine and still somewhat at SR.  We have some good times at Shrine stuff.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

I hope someone has already made the obligatory "I lodged my member in your mom last night" comment.

[atomheartbevo 89474]

The only lodge I want to join is led by this man.