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We may be taught that we are supposed to agree, but that's a lesson I'm not all that good at! I am obedient within the parameters of the GL bylaws, but I disagree with a lot of stuff. Thing is I don't consider agreement to be needed for brotherly love, peace and cooperation. Requiring...

Glakes '78 Company 185. 24 years later when my younger daughter graduated boot camp we went to the ceremony and it was like stepping into a time warp. Identical. Weird feeling knowing that I HAD been there before so it was no deja vu.

When my wife got an iPhone she didn't like the on screen virtual keyboard so she switched to a Galaxy. I played with the on screen virtual keyboard on both and I also prefer the one on the Galaxy. Apps, email, web, talking, texting, all pretty much the same for my mild purposes. I do enough...

I find such side orders neither offensive nor un-Masonic. But no matter the religious requirements I have yet to join any that I qualify for. Then again there are a ton of side orders without religious requirements that I have yet to join. The difference is internal not external. Right...

In my California lodge the actual practice is to send notices until he's two years behind then give him the third year to catch up before voting him NPD. Any brother can request a remit during that time. When the names are read it's common for brothers to pay for one or more of them.

One of the best tastes of ale in my life was out of the trunk of some guy's car in the parking lot of a bar. I'd bought him a Guinness. He repaid with a hand crafted ale that was half way between a British bitter and a Belgian Trappist. Angels sang. Or belched I guess. He was that year's...

Looks to me like a quote of the NPD rules for at least two of my jurisdictions. The usual 50 mile traditional cable tow on knocking on the door. The word is suspension not expulsion I hope. Those two words have very different meanings.

A few jurisdictions issue cards to brothers certified in the ritual. Only one of my jurisdiction uses cards that way. The Texas system of C, B and A level certifications use the word "card". Saying you have an "A card" tells what parts (all) of the ritual you are certified to know, deliver...

It's tradition not law in at least two of my three jurisdictions.

Different jurisdiction different procedure but I'm dubious they are that different for any length of time. A handful of years ago the GM in Illinois insisted on calling every brother before allowing a suspension NPD. Most thought he was trying to show a year with growth in the membership. It...

Welcome to the family once adopted brother.

The level of friendliness towards non-members is different at each lodge and it is not correlated with how active a lodge is. On the one hand I became a Mason knowing I'd be one for life so there's no hurry getting to know the guys at my local lodges. It allows me to be more outgoing at lodge...

It doesn't get any easier when you're working on your third jurisdiction. If I were to try today I'd mash together more than one version unless I had a little bit of prompting. Close but not quite word for word in any of my jurisdictions. Not just furthers, there is also that list of verbs in...

It's also important to figure out why the outburst happened. The couple that I've witnessed over the years the basis of the problem was not what appeared on the surface during the outburst. The surface problem was the straw that broke the camel's back not the majority of load on the camel.

Illinois has an "Invitation to Petition" process. So involved I never used it. US jurisdictions have been inching towards invitations in recent years. I think the trend started well over 10 years ago with Pennsylvania's "Friend to Friend" program.

I suggest the answer is a return to the original plan - Membership by invitation. I have no idea how long ago the change was made to move away from invitation but the modern results in the US don't seem to work like European jurisdictions that have been by invitation for centuries. I'm well...

It's strange the MWPHGLofTN does not have a functioning lodge locator on their web site. Maybe it's a temporary problem on my end. Generally in person is the way to go. Please do contact the GL office. Please do call and/or email your local lodge before showing up. But a lot of lodges...

Roughly once per decade in my experience.

Mnemonic methods are a part of the study of rhetoric. Used to memorize speeches lectures with applicability to very many other fields as well.

If you mean my example of asking for applause for the brother leaving, not for him. He was a Mason of the Year for the lodge and a mentor to all of the members before my generation. If you mean some of the other brothers in lodge who managed to get into conflict with him, I'll go with...