It has been a long week. But all in all a good one. I enjoyed most of it. But any time you have a holiday on a Tuesday or a Wednesday it seems to mess things up.
I am never sure what day it is on weeks like this. So I am glad it if Friday and am looking forward to next week when I get to start a new calendar.
I think one of these days I will to a retrospection on the year. I was looking through old postings and realized what a roller coaster this year has been. I guess the caption on the poster could read Whoo!! What a YEAR! - More about that later. I am still processing it.
The other day I received an e-mail from a Brother of Nevada Lodge #99 asking me if I would do a Masonic Funeral Service for one of their Brothers (Arthur A. Kleespie). I was honored to be able to do it for him and so tonight Curt Bauer (who is now a member of Arcadia but is a Past Master of the Zearing Lodge) and knew Brother Art came over to the house and we drove to Nevada and had supper at Battles BarBQ and then picked up Brother Bill at the Nevada Lodge and drove to Zearing where the Masonic Funeral Service was to be held. The Friday night visitation was at 7:00 PM and we got there in plenty of time. I did not personally know the brother but his daughter is one of our Eastern Star Sisters and a very nice lady. If she is his daughter he had to have been a wonderful man.
The more I heard about him the more I realized just what a Mason and a man he was. He was raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason about a year and a half before I was born in the Lodge in Zearing.. Eventually their Lodge consolidated with the Nevada Lodge and he finished his years as a Mason in that Lodge. I have a connection with Nevada Lodge. Nicholas Simser (My great grandfather) and Erma Simser (my great aunt) were members of Nevada Lodge and the Eastern Star. That he he belonged to one and she to the other.
The number of Masons (almost 30) who came out to his service was a tribute to him. They told me that he seldom missed a meeting. He had been secretary of the Lodge a Zearing for 23 years. He had been a Mason for 67 years. I deviated from my usual text to pa tribute to this unusual Mason. He was indeed a pillar of Masonry and we extend our sympathy to his family.
It is not an easy thing to preside at a Masonic Funeral Service but I am proud to pay this last tribute to a Brother Mason.
Tomorrow we meet at the Temple to begin the clean-up of the York Rite material and to sort it out. It had needed doing for quite awhile and it should be a fun day (I hope) - Just remember T.G.I.F, (Toes Go In First.) Of course I prefer P.O.E.T.S ( Pi** On Everything Tomorrow's Saturday) - Hugs, j
Randy sent me this. If you want to read it click on it to make it larger. Enjoy. j
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