Friday night I was supposed to go to the Play at StageWest. There was snow. (what else is new?) and I chose to stay home. Then on Saturday morning I had to get up early because we were having a Degree Study at Specialis Procer Lodge. It was a Degree Study because it was not really a School where just the Ritual is studied but rather an "
In depth practice and study of the meanings behind the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason Degrees."
Our Lodge meets in the Classroom at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Des Moines. There is a nice feeling about the room and while we may not have a very fancy Lodge Hall it meets our needs and there is a great feeling among the Brethren
P G M Don Mosier in his Hawaiian shirt gave us a lot of instruction about the Ritual and the meaning behind the ritual and why we do some of the things we do. Don is a Motorcycle enthusiast and has a very special motorcycle. Go here to see one picture of it. There were also some on his shirt. You can see that it was a free flowing informal meeting with lots of starts and stops for discussion. Just the type of thing we like at Specialis Procer.
Worshipful Master Kurt Hoffmann and Ron Lindhart.
Junior Deacon Lucas Gillmore and Senior Warden Wade Sheeler.
Our "lights" are actually candles and they add to the atmosphere when lit because they are scented.
I love this picture. Tim Whipple, John Klaus and P GM Al Jensen. He and Don took us through the First Degree. Al is a Custodian Emeritus of the Grand Lodge and probably has forgotten more about the Ritual than most of us ever knew. Not just the words but the reasons and meanings also. Actually this picture just cries out for a caption. Please leave your entry in the comments.
A break for lunch in the members lounge. The Master's wife picked it up and brought it to us.
Palmer's Deli puts out a good lunch.
And then it was followed by Ron Lindhart and Wade Sheeler who took us through the meaning behind the Fellow craft Degree. We did not finish and everybody who was there went away enthusiastic and ready for more. A couple of our guests commented that they had learned a lot and had never had Masonic work explained to them before.
So then it was out to Costco to spend some money and then to Target where I purchased this handy dandy little machine. The problem is not Miles. He does not go in the house at all. But Bailey is a different matter. I did not know this when I got him but Yorkshire Terriers will. I understand it is part of their nature. So now I have a new machine to take care of it.
I then went to eat at a new Steakhouse and had a good supper but I probably won't go back. They expect you to cook your own steak. Or they charge you $2 more to cook it for you, Not interested. I prefer to go to a place where I am waited on. I don't really like salad bars either ( Except the one at Ruby Tuesdays.
Then to the play at the Des Moines Playhouse. I can't believe I have never been there before. It is a wonderful facility and the play was Beyond the Rainbow. I swear that the Actress playing Judy Garland was actually channeling her. She did a masterful job. Click on the poster to go learn about this wonderful theater experience.
Speaking of channeling. I am reading a book right now (The Dakota Cipher) and for some reason I got to thinking of the course I took when I was teaching on multi-cultural experiences. Ruth Ann Gaines was the teacher and I am so very grateful that I met her and took classes from her. She is awesome (I know I overwork that word) and I love what she gave me as a teacher. Any way this class was about the various cultures in our society and she brought in many many different cultures and took us to a multitude (well really only a few but they were great) of multicultural places to eat. One of the groups she brought in was the Native Americans. We were part of a circle and as they played their drums and sang I became aware of spiritual beings joining us. Yes, that is what I said. I am not a woo woo individual - I do not consult with spirits but I believe that life is eternal and that when we finish with this life we step through a door so to speak and enter onto a new phase of existence. As such we are still tied to those who are left behind and while we cannot speak with them as the Ghost Whisperer would have us believe. They do make themselves known to us.
I had an experience once after my mother passed when I was having a conversation with her and reached out and actually touched her. So I truly believe that the native American has a connection to their ancestors who join them when the drums play. They joined us and were with us and I was aware of them
Their, there and they're. It drives me nuts to see these words misused. I know I am being picky. Your and you're bother me also. They're going to put their apples over there. You're going to go to your home now. Two simple sentences which help you remember how to use the words. When I see it wrong on a blog post I figure that the writer did not have good teachers.
Really. You know, It's all good. Little phrases which people use as punctuation. I was talking with a friend the other day and he used "your know" so many times that I almost started counting them - Over and over almost, you know, ever other, you know, word or you know sentence. And when I tell someone something and they say "Really" I want to say No, I just told you that because I like to lie to you. And It's all good! What the hell does that mean. Just drive me nuts. Maybe I shall start a Facebook page. I did start one once. It was entitled "I would not belong to any group that would have me as a member." I think there is one other person besides me who joined it.
Buzz - Google has something new called Buzz. I think it is sort of like Twitter. I don't see any reason to follow anyone on Twitter and won't be posting to Buzz. In fact I may soon stop following anyone on Buzz. I Blog and I have a Facebook account that is enough. Craig Ferguson is all a Twitter about his Tweeting. I could care less. Speaking of Craig. I am getting really tired of some of his "stuff" - "It's a Great day for America" followed by a paid audience yelling and screaming - it just does nothing for me.
Speaking of talk shows. I miss Johnny Carson. He used to have two or three guests on at the same time and there was real conversation. Craig sometimes gets into a real conversation but most of the talk shows are just someone coming in to hype their latest movie or book.
I wrote a poem once about how we all do the same thing over and over again. It is called Most People I don't know why I mention it except to get some traffic over at my poetry blog.
One of my students (now my friend) who lives in Seattle tells me about flowers beginning to bloom and his life there. (I still am so very happy to have reconnected with him) - He and another student (who I am also very happy to know what is going on in her life) are attending a Film Noir festival. He sends this video which he recommends you watch with the lights down low.
I almost forgot - there is another former student that I had lost track of and now thanks to Facebook I have found him again. He lives in Texas and he has dogs. This is Harley - Awesome dog.
Norin (Isn't that a great name) was a super sixth grader. I overslept one day and he just took charge of the class and had them all working when I got there. Isn't this a great dog?
Thanks for stopping by. I am sorry I was so busy this week-end but it was a good busy. Really? Yeah, really.. hugs, j
No comments:
Post a Comment