Firearms Friday: Selling More?

Well, that's a decent goal. 

There have been so many unexpected expenses that my wife and I have incurred over the past couple of months and many more that we are anticipating over the next months that the time has come for me to start culling some of the firearms from the safe. I hate having to do this again but it is sometimes what needs to be done. Besides there isn’t anything that I own that isn’t replaceable and the benefits are at the point when they significantly outweigh the desire to hang on to what I have. And that is what I have to remind myself of during this process… I’m not getting rid of everything and what I do sell I can find again in the future.

Of course, now is the difficult part of making the decision of what stay and what has to go. This also may require an investment of my time in completing a few basic builds to flip. On the positive side of things this will force me to finally get my work space organized and free up some of the clutter that has continued to plague me. This also means that I have to find the time somewhere in my schedule to head over to the local (actually not so local) gun shop in order to hopefully add some much needed funds to our account.

At the same time, I hope that this process pushes me to finally complete the other projects that I plan on keeping. They have been on the shelf (in the safe actually) for far too long and I am missing the cathartic benefits of working with my hands to actually build something. There are also a few parts that have to be installed and some customizations that have to be made… maybe there will be time to get these done once I get back into the rhythm of building. And, having cleared some extra space, there will undoubtedly be some extra room to store all of these new creations.

This is what I have to keep telling myself as I am definitely not the only one that dislikes having to sell off on item without immediately replacing it with another. That being said, this is a common ebb and flow of the sport and I am certain that I am not the only one that keeps going through this annoying cycle. But, again, we do this for our family as there are more ways than one with which we can protect them.

Arriving And Departing

Reenactment of a 1857 Masonic Funeral Service
by Jordan-Martin Lodge No. 673  in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

I was a little pressed for time as I arrived at the lodge on Thursday night. Everything was ready for the meeting, and had been ready for a few days, but other commitments and, of course, traffic kept me from having a few minutes to spend some time with the brethren at the dinner table before the meeting. There have been so many other projects, both personal and at the office, that arriving on time and being able to take a breath have been luxuries that have eluded me for much of the year. So why should this meeting be any different.

As I sorted through the pile that I had dumped on my desk, it was nice to see that dues were already coming in as well as a few correspondences from the brethren. These are the two kinds of mail that I actually look forward to receiving so that I can update the ledger and also have some words to share with the brethren at the meeting along with the usual business items. Actually, the only thing that would be better is when I receive a new petition to be read… it has been way too long since I read one during a meeting.

The rest of the meeting was both a continuation of the program from last month by providing some additional information about other appendant bodies and also a new slate of lessons for the new brethren and reminders for the longer standing members. It was interesting to hear about some of the experiences that various brothers have had visiting other lodges in different districts, jurisdictions, and countries. Some of the processes may vary but there are many that are closely tied together which makes the examination process of a visitor an interesting topic of discussion.

The other discussion that we had was on the Masonic funeral and memorial services. While these are open to the public, I have yet to witness let alone participate in either beyond handling some of the preparations required beforehand. This was a hugely important lesson as it is a means to pay respect to a brother who has been called off from labor. It also reminded me to update my form so that if I should pass, my family knows who to contact to arrange for the service… I have seen too many deaths go unnoticed in the lodge because we were never notified having to discover their passing during an annual membership audit.

All of these programs were reviews of information that most of us already know. However, there are some new brothers unfamiliar with these aspects of Freemasonry and the rest of us were definitely due for a reminder. Like many things in the fraternity, we possess the knowledge somewhere in our minds but it is always a good idea to reexamine some of those topics and rituals. We are bound to forget certain details and there is always the possibility of learning something new whether it be the proper way of doing something, the meaning behind it, or simply a different perspective from another brother. After all, we can never know it all and, without practice, we tend to lose what we once learned.

The Gifts Keep Coming

It felt like this for a while. 

During the course of the year we have received countless gifts from friends, family, and coworkers for our son. Having now lived through this, I can say that this is the time in life when you see the greatest amount of generosity. The first couple of months of the year saw the greatest deluge of packages and envelopes, but there is still a light trickle of gifts even as we head into the fall. It is pretty amazing the amount of items we have received over the months and we continue to be thankful for each and every item that we receive (even the ones that we return or exchange).

Admittedly, it can be a little daunting at times with the amount of stuff that has accumulated in our house but, in the end, it is all stuff that we have had to purchase anyway. It is interesting to think about the number of things and boxes that we originally moved into the apartment four years ago, the increased amount of stuff that we moved from the apartment to our current house, and the volume that will have to be packed and moved to our next home. And I am sure that the accumulation won’t stop there either.

I wish that I was as thoughtful as many of the people that we have in our life. Time and again, I have been presented with the same or similar opportunities and for one reason or another (usually finances or forgetfulness) too long a time passes and the opportunity is gone. I certainly have to get better at this as it is also a time to pay it forward and show the same generosity that has been shown to us. Hopefully there are many more opportunities coming up.

Sometimes I forget about just how great many of the people in our life are and this experience has been a clear reminder of quality of people that we have in our life. And don’t get me wrong, it is not about the numbers. Some of the greatest (and many time most useful) items have been the small thoughtful things that served us well during this learning process. Sometimes it wasn’t even a gift. There have been many times when the help or a willing ear have meant a great deal when we needed them. The gifts have only proven even more how much others car about us and our son. That is what it is all about and that is what we try to convey to our son each and every day.