Official Visits and Elvis

This week was filled with Official Visits, yard work, oh, and Elvis!

As Master of Everett Lodge #137 and past District Deputy of District 8, I was looking forward to my OV of the Deputy of the Grand Master in District 8, VWB Larry Foley.  Was I going to make it a pain in the butt for him, was I going to give him a hard time, was I going to make his first OV memorable, or was I simply going to respect him, his office, and the Administrative side of Masonry?  Of course I made what I believe is the right choice and provided him all the support and assistance that a Worshipful Master should provide to the Deputy in this situation.  We had a great meeting and had some fantastic discussion about membership.

Then I had the opportunity to be a side liner at the next OV at Damascus Lodge and of course I chose the path of giving him a hard time at that meeting!  As he would (and did) graciously do to me in previous years.  I was not disruptive of his visit, but I did give him some barbs when he was finished and at other time during the evening.

The next couple of evenings were spent power washing the wood on my deck and prepping it for refinishing.  We spent some time at the Jurisdictional Representative retreat for the Rainbow girls.  As the Assistant Director, Robin got to spend some quality time with the JReps and with the Director all while putting on a great retreat.

Saturday I picked Robin up from the retreat, after spending all morning power washing the deck, and we drove up to Lynden-Ferndale International Lodge for the Hands Across the Border celebration.  We enjoyed and excellent prime rib dinner and then got to watch Elvis for the next couple of hours.  Very nice meeting and socializing with the Brethren from that area and the Brethren from British Columbia and Yukon.

After all the travels I again get time to reflect on the days and ponder about the state of things.  Not just in Masonry, but in society in general.  One of the things I have heard a lot about, and I am very much a fan of, is civility dialogues.  We need to be able to talk about the issues facing us, we need to be able to have a conversation and not turn it into a yelling match.  I do not watch Political analyst programs because it always ends up in yelling matches and people talking over each other.  Same is true for "Sports" news programs.  I do not watch those either, and for the same reason.  The Stephen A. Smiths and Max Kellermans of the world ruin good conversation with their holier than thou attitudes that almost always turn into "I am right, you are wrong".  With all of that being said, I think we need to take civility dialogue one step further.  Not only do you have to be able to have a conversation about issues, you MUST be willing to listen, and about all, compromise.  Until we can bring back the art of compromise, we will not move forward and grow as a nation.  Without civility and compromise, our divide will continue to grow.

Food for thought, Be All In

Fraternally,
VWB Steve Martin
Grand Lecturer