questions brothers ask and answer in public?

Brethren, I've noticed in my masonic careers their are several questions that Masons ask and answer in pubic when they are being tried or being recognized, these questions are "Are you a traveling man?" Have you seen my dog Hiram?" etc. how do you Brothers feel about this form of trying, and recognition among Brethren in public. please feel free to private message me other "questions and answers" you have came across that are similar to these, NOT THE QUESTIONS FROM MASONIC DEGREE WORK

 

A word of advice that I recently received about this. Though you are not wrong for asking the question, a person trying to pose as a Mason who is not, in fact, our Brother, may see this and use the information regarding these questions to better pretend his way into receiving the benefits of Masonry, even though he is not entitled to them. I made a similar post (fairly recently) and a Brother offered me this counsel which proved to be very useful. He also offered me this: "It is sometimes better to be overly cautious than not cautious enough"

Others here may disagree, but it seemed worth mentioning. After all, we are all always learning

If any Brother present, disagrees with this, then I would be glad to know your reasoning behind it. This is the counsel that I was offered, and it is only through the counsel of those wiser than ourselves that we may truly grow.

 

I generally use "I see you're a travelin' man" because I think it is a nice, friendly way to greet someone new. It's not a real method of "trying" someone, nor does it need to be. I am not going to meet someone for the first time in Walmart, a restaurant, or a party and start discussing Masonic degree work with them.

For that matter, if I bump into one of the members of my own lodge in one of those settings, esoteric work isn't going to really be discussed, either.

There is a difference between recognizing someone as a Mason and trying someone.

 

Same here!

Although I know that some of our Scots brethren like to ask each other how old their Mothers are, with the answer being the Lodge's number apparently.

 

I like this! After all, this is not an era when a major political party exists with "Ban Freemasonry" in its platform.

 

I think it is fun to use the "hey hiram" or similar sayings. A true mason will not try to gain the secrets of Masonry from another on the street. If you encounter someone who approaches you as a mason and tries to get you to acknowledge them masonically they are most likely clandestine.

I had a "hey Hiram" thrown out at me because of my Masonic Keychain. We spoke about everything BUT masonry (asides lodge numbers, meeting nights and friendly invites). A 5 minutes greet can turn into an hour if the wife is not there to break up the party!:53:

 

I usually just stick my hand out and like trysquare say "Hi, are you a mason?" But I do always enjoy hearing "I see you're a traveling man" from a stranger when I'm not anywhere close to home.

 

I live in Alberta Canada.
I am currently a FC.

No one has told me anything about sayings like "hey hiram" we could use to recognise Brothers.

Is this training reserved for MM's?
Or localized only?

 

My Dad was a Mason.
He passed on a couple of years ago.

As a kid I was quite curious about the Lodge.
He did not tell me much.


I asked him once why he wore the ring and his friend Tom did not.
I recall him telling me there was a way to recognize a Mason from across the room.
Perhaps I will learn more when I become a MM, hopefully this spring.

 

Enjoy the journey I'm sure your father would've been proud

 

As I understand, these forums are not private. Ie. Google. Maybe keep discussions on modes of recognition in a private forum.?

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Though I haven't encountered this yet, I've heard a popular question has been, "traveling east?"

Though I look forward to making MM, and there is a ring I've been eying, I'm undecided whether or not I want to wear it on-duty, as I don't want someone to expect a favor or break because I'm a brother and I don't want there to ever be a question about my integrity.


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The brother who obligated me on my first degree is an LA County Sheriff deputy. He wore his De Molay ring while one duty.

 

A mason should never assume another person is a mason.

I've met someone who is a mason but I've never sat in a lodge of Master Masons with him.

He gripped me right off the bat even when I was concealing my grip. It was the most awkward handshake I ever experienced. I felt like I was wrong to conceal because he was so forceful with the grip.

 

I haven't been inducted yet but I find this to be very informative stuff.

 

I think what we have come to experience in real life as a mason is not as glorified as the internet makes it out to be.

 

I think traveling man is the way to go here. I once asked a guy this who I had reason to believe was a brother. He said not really I rarely travel for work. He had no idea what I was eluding to and it was that strange of a question.

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