Fellowship… With Horseshoes

It was nice knowing that when I arrived at the lodge last night that there were no emergencies, no meetings that needed to take place, and nothing that needed to be completed that night. It was an opportunity to go to the lodge and enjoy the fellowship while casually discussing topics that happen to come up in conversation. What I didn’t expect was that those conversations would be happening over a game of horseshoes in the back yard.

I honestly can’t remember the last time that I tossed a horseshoe across the grass in the hopes of hearing it ring on the post. It has probably been at least fifteen years since I flipped the steel from my fingers so there was quite a bit of relearning taking place throughout the evening. Of course, the last time that I recall playing was simply as a fill in while one of my uncles took a break so there wasn’t much of a technique to be found in my past either.

The most important part of the whole evening was that fact that we could enjoy the fellowship with our brothers without an agenda to be mentioned and we were able to get to know one of our newly raised brothers a little more and in a relaxed setting. While we have had conversations in the past and I have spoken with him at great length, there is something to be said about seeing a person’s personality during a casual competition. Safe to say, more so than I was before, I am glad to have this new mason as my brother.

It is this type of environment that I would like to see constantly fostered and built upon as we move forward. This is a return to the way brothers used to interact with one another all over the world not just at lodges here and there. This is what we need if we are going to see our lodge and our fraternity as a whole thrive in the coming years and decades. Brothers of all ages and experiences simply going to lodge to enjoy the fellowship found in our fraternity.

Nights like this are part of why I decided to become a mason. It is not just about learning something new and striving to be better men, it is a brotherly bond that you share with your fellow mason, with whom you truly enjoy spending time with at the lodge and beyond the confines of the building. This is certainly something that I have to improve upon and embrace as I rarely see the brethren outside of a masonic setting. I guess I have another goal for the summer.

Changing Things Around

I had both been looking forward to and dreading this past week for months because of the many long nights that were on my schedule. I knew that things would be different by this time of year with our son having arrived and while I wanted to get out and get back to my previous routine I was also dreading being away from our baby for so many nights in a row. This week was originally planned so that I would be at the lodge on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. At best I was expecting that I could miss Tuesday but that didn’t change the fact that I would be out late the other two nights.

This week just goes to show that sometimes you just have to trust the plan that has been laid out before us. With the first front moving in on Tuesday the first night of my week was quickly taken off the table. This was a change that I had contemplated previously so there wasn’t much of a difference on my end. On Wednesday night the schedule remained the same and I was at the lodge catching up with my brothers but, at this point, Thursday night, our state meeting night, was questionable at best. By the time I left for the lodge after work on Wednesday, the stated meeting had been postponed and my week opened up.

It was still hard to be away from my wife and son during the night but at least I was able to slowly get back into things rather than having multiple obligations taking me away from family throughout the week. However, knowing how much I missed them for those few extra hours out of the office makes me wonder how I am going to handle my annual business trip at the end of the month. I guess it is going to take some to get used to the idea and this new reality.

For now, I was only out late once this week and I will be out late once next week as well. Hopefully things will move as quickly as they are currently planned and that my son doesn’t wait up for me like he did on Wednesday. While I hate being away, even for a few extra hours at the end of the day, it is at least occasional and brings be back to a modified routine. It may not be perfectly measured at this point but I will continue measuring the different proportions and gauging where and when I need to remove some things from my schedule.

Another Alarming Evening

View of the cluster from outside.

It was a busy weekend for the two of us as we both needed to just get out of the apartment and do something. We spent all day on Saturday driving around enjoying some new scenery, running errands, and trying to stay warm. It was a slower pace than usual but we still got a number of things done. Today was much of the same for the first part of the day until we got to the point that we just needed to close the door, make some dinner, and try to catch up on all the emails and projects that filled our computers.

While the plan was simple it was not one that we were able to stick with as not long after finishing dinner the fire alarm began screeching throughout the building. Unfortunately, this was not a surprise at it had been nearly a month since the last time we were forced to grab out coats and sit on the bench outside. After spending about 10 minutes trying to get our son to calm down a bit and once the fire department turned off the alarm, I wandered into the lobby to try and listen in for an update (even though I pretty much knew what had happened). Unable to hear anything but with the all clear from the fire chief, we headed back to our apartment to try and resume our routine.

Just as we had begun recovering from the evening detour and had resumed our plans for the night, that same familiar sound pierced the apartment walls. At this point I knew for certain that the same faulty sensor on the 4^th floor was not fixed and causing the interruption to the evening. However, even with the false alarm, we repeated the steps from an hour prior, grabbed our coats, and made our way out the door… again.

Moments later, my wife and I were sitting on the bench trying to calm down the baby as we watched the same fire crew pull in (with their lights off this time) and go through the same routine that they had just completed a half our ago. Granted, they were much grumpier this time as they too knew what the problem was. So, we waited another 30 minutes, watching the commotion as the President of the Board finally came down to the lobby (she was nowhere to be found when the alarm went off the first time) and began pointing her finger at the fire chief. I give the Union fire department credit as they remained calm despite the frustration of the situation. 

As the trucks once again began packing things up, I ventured into the lobby where I finally heard the confirmation as to the cause of the evening disturbances. With the lobby now clearing and the trucks pulling away, I decided to ask a few questions regarding the situation and what is going to be done moving forward to prevent another reoccurrence (especially since the fire department already stated that they will not respond to another false alarm without levying a heavy fine). Simply and polite questions where quickly responded to by the President with condescending venom.

I can’t say I was surprised by this reaction as I was not there to kiss her ring so she wanted nothing to do with me and because she didn’t think of those questions or options then they must be wrong. So, we exchanged a few words and I left the lobby simply confirming a common opinion about her which I will not elaborate upon at this juncture but you can figure it out. This is just another example of why things aren’t managed properly in the building, why the residential door keeps revolving, and the reason that small issues have become big expensive problems. I’m just glad it wasn’t another leak or we would still be dealing with it this morning.