Yesterday

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bill Hosler, PM

As one travels down the level of life you will encounter many dates in your life in which the anniversary will make you stop and pause every year. Many of these will be good days. The days your children were born, the Graduations, the day you were married or the day you bought your first home. Most of the time when you realize what day it is you will stop and reflect. Often you will smile thinking of the events of that day and think to yourself “Was it really that long ago?” The older you get the more years will pile on behind that memory and it will make you realize how much life you have lived. You will also encounter anniversaries which are not fond to remember and place you in a somber mood, such as a passing of a friend or a Brother. Yesterday for me was one of those days.

As I write this the date is July 13th. Yesterday, three years ago on July 12th, 2018, Masonry lost a great scholar, and I lost a great friend.

For many years I have been a fan of the writing of Brother James Tresner. Jim while being a very brilliant man and great academic scholar, Jim never lost his humility. Despite all the accolades and honors bestowed upon him during his lifetime Jim remained on the level. He stayed the humble boy from Oklahoma. I must admire that.

Needless to say, Jim was and is one of my all-time favorite Masonic writers. He had a way of explaining Masonry in a way a lunkhead like me could understand. He is like Chris Hodapp in that way. In order for me to learn I need hand puppets and coloring books so I might grasp the meaning printed on the page. These men have the ability to reach me and help me actually learn. I will always be grateful for that.

I also like the way Jim would write a piece and many times when he was trying to get his point across he would use irony and sarcasm. If you know me in real life that is pretty much how I have lived my life, much to the regret of friends and relatives around me. Needless to say, Jim influenced my writing style.

I never actually met Brother Tresner in person. I would see him at the Guthrie valley of the Scottish Rite and I wanted to go up and shake his hand, maybe even have my photo taken with him. But for some silly reason, I was so star-struck I could never make myself do it. I know it was silly and I regret it now because now I will never have the opportunity.

My closest friend in Oklahoma, Lance Kats, knew of my fanboy obsession with Tresner. He used to kid me about it. He used to ask me if I still Had Jim’s poster on my bedroom wall like a lovesick teenage girl. We would exchange good-natured insults and laugh.

One day I was talking to Lance, and he told me about some Brethren from the Scottish Rite in Guthrie thought he and Jim would have a lot in common, both had a love of books and Masonry and many other things and set up a “play date” for the two. Needless to say, I was jealous and demanded to know every detail. I had no way of knowing it but I had a feeling at the time the Brethren seen something in Lance. I think something he never saw in himself.

I thought in the back of my mind the Brethren knew Tresner was having health problems and I think they hope the two would become close and Jim would be a mentor for Lance, and maybe just maybe he could help with the education at Guthrie once Jim laid down his working tools. Lance was brilliant. I know in my heart he would have excelled at the job. I dare not say he would have made a great replacement for Brother Jim. The closest I believe to that would be Most Worshipful Brother Bob Davis. But I think Lance would have been amazing. (This is just speculation on my part. I could have been completely wrong)

The night of their play date Lance went up to Guthrie, Oklahoma where Jim lived. The two had dinner at the Stables restaurant (If you are ever in Guthrie you got to go there. I suggest the steak). I guess they made small talk at dinner and once they finished they went to Jim’s house.

Lance said it was a nice house. There were books stacked everywhere. Little was said between the two he said. I guess the Brethren at the Rite never really thought about the fact that when you put two introverts together in the same space they really will not say much to each other. Both spent some time watching Jim’s cat play, saying something occasionally, and after a while, Lance said goodnight and went home. I was surprised because I would have thought two Brothers who had so much in common would have a lot to talk about. Maybe the fact that they had so much in common meant they did not need to say much to each other, both understood what was being said without words.

Not long afterward Masons in Oklahoma was saying Jim’s health was declining. So it wasn’t too surprising that day three years ago when I got an email with the news of Jim’s passing. I got that sadness in the pit of my stomach everyone knows when they learn about the death of someone they care about. I sent a text to Lance telling him a link to the announcement. I assumed he was still asleep since it was his day off.

Later that afternoon I got a call from the Senior Warden in Lance’s lodge in El Reno, Oklahoma. He asked if I was sitting down. I was sitting at my desk, so I assured him I was. I figured it was about Tresner. He quietly said, “Bill, Lance is Dead.”

I do not think my mind really grasp it. I mean he was 39 years old. After a little while, over the next couple of days, I finally began to accept it. I began to help El Reno #50 with the announcements and the Masonic service. I was honored to be one asked to speak at his service.

I truly believe that day was a great loss for Oklahoma Freemasonry and Freemasonry in general. Jim was a brilliant writer and I believe he will inspire Masons like me for decades to come. His words will stand the t4est of time. I also believe in my heart that Oklahoma Masonry had lost a future star of Masonic education with Lance’s passing.

Lance, I think would have been a brilliant asset to the future writing of Freemasonry. He was brilliant and just beginning his Masonic career. Because of the Christian fundamentalist college, he attended he could not put his writings in his own name. If he had he would have been expelled so he wrote under the Nom de plum “Brother Tech”. He posted a few things on his own Facebook page under that name which I now administer, and he posted the first chapter of a book he was going to publish in serial form on amazon entitled “A Christian's Perspective on Masonic Symbols: The Square and Compasses” It’s funny. I just went to Amazon to look up the proper name of his book and I couldn't believe all the four and five-star ratings it has received and comments saying “I can’t wait for the next installment”. It is sad they will never come.)

I’ve often thought about how weird it was that both of these men passed on the same day. Several of us have joked how they were both probably riding the escalator to Heaven discussing the pros and cons of cigars versus pipes. Or maybe they both were just riding in silence anticipating the chat they were about to have with another Masonic Brother whose last name was Pike.

~BH

WB Bill Hosler was made a Master Mason in 2002 in Three Rivers Lodge #733 in Indiana. He served as Worshipful Master in 2007 and became a member of the internet committee for Indiana's Grand Lodge. Bill is currently a member of Roff Lodge No. 169 in Roff Oklahoma and Lebanon Lodge No. 837 in Frisco, Texas. Bill is also a member of the Valley of Fort Wayne Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in Indiana. A typical active Freemason, Bill also served as the High Priest of Fort Wayne's Chapter of the York Rite No. 19 and was commander of the Fort Wayne Commandery No. 4 of the Knight Templar. During all this, he also served as the webmaster and magazine editor for the Mizpah Shrine in Fort Wayne Indiana.

Grudge-match: TV Versus The Lodge

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Bro. Tech

Lodges are interesting things. They can do anything or they can do nothing. It is upon the members to proactively and willfully engage in activities to better the communities in which the lodge resides. I have heard it said that Monday Night Football (or more generally, television) killed the Lodge. I know of folks who, during football season, are never found in lodge. Even in the age of Tivo, watching a game live is somehow more important than Lodge. I can't hold it against them, as it is upon each person to place the importance of Lodge in their own lives. We might each have our opinions, and may be able to justify them well, but in the end it is upon each person to make their own choices.

But I provide a different angle. While we might, all too often, get upset or annoyed with people who place television on a higher level than attending Lodge and engaging with the brethren. Perhaps it isn't as much their fault as we might think. Sure, they could assign more value to Freemasonry to the point that they show up and record the game (Though not a sports fan, that's what I do to shows I enjoy that come on Monday evenings). However, what are we, as a lodge, providing to gain and hold that value judgment? Who are we to offer a dwindling and degraded product and demand they prefer it because of some things said in a ritual years or decades ago? Lodges have largely gone from being a vital and integral part of the community, with great and important fellowship, to arguing about bills twice a month after eating a rather dull thrown-together-at-the-last-moment meal (In fairness, the brother who cooks at my lodge does a wonderful job, probably the best I eat all week).

My point is, who are we to complain about a lack of attendance when what we provide is of immensely little value? We are to build one another up and give support while we develop ourselves into what God wants us to be, yet too often we complain about what to do with money and shoot down any ideas that involve helping in the community, bowing before the stereotypical cranky past master.

It is one thing to complain about problems, but another to provide a solution. Put another way: Simple people whine, leaders solve. Here is my solution: Be the fix. In the cartoon-movie Robots, a common theme was “See a need, fill a need.” Be the solution to the problems you find. Are people not coming to your lodge? Engage them directly, but not in an accusatory way, to find out why. What is missing from the Lodge experience that they sought? What would it take for them to come back? Then, when you have compiled your list of what is missing (I would wager you find the same 5-10 items repeated), find a way to make them happen. Then make sure these brothers know that it is happening. At that point, if they return you have made a great work better. If they do not, then they were being dishonest and their lack of involvement is upon them, not you. You won't help everyone, but that is never cause to not help anyone.


~BT

Brother Tech is the author of A Christian's Perspective on Masonic Symbols: The Square and Compasses. He is an active member in the craft, loves motorcycles and prefers to remain anonymous.

 

Letting Go of the Self

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Bro. Tech

I am not a very social creature. I am an introvert, a self-described hermit. I work, I go to Lodge, I take care of family and I ride my motorcycle (with the VAST majority of my miles being alone, how I tend to prefer). I have never been a person for parties or group outings, instead preferring a few close friends or just time alone to recharge. If I had my way, a cave with a refrigerator and wifi would be my ideal. However, life is not about me, it is about He who sent me and His plans for my life. And so it is with you.

Man is, by nature, an egocentric creature. We start out in life with ourselves as our only focus. This can be justified, perhaps, by our total dependence on another for all aspects of our life. What other recourse do we have but to be focused on ourselves when we are so incapable of providing for ourselves?

On a physiological level, a newborn is mentally unprepared to have a concept outside of their perspective. As we develop, we begin to first understand that objects can exist outside of our direct sight. Later we learn that sounds associate with thoughts and these objects gain names. As we grow further, we begin to learn about intangible concepts. In adulthood, we learn what abstract concepts like justice and love truly mean.

As we grow to completion, in terms of our mental development anyway, we ought to find ourselves letting go of the egocentric creature within us. Instead, however, we find ourselves clinging to that same self-centered perspective.

As I look at the rough ashlar, I see the self – the ego-driven and selfish man. It is not rough and irregularly shaped because there was no plan for its development. The Creator's plan was evident and in existence long before every stone was formed. It is rough and irregularly shaped because of Ego. The egocentric nature in us wants to shape our lives by what gives us pleasure, or what we want in that moment. Every moment of our lives, we work on our ashlar. We build and shape ourselves into what we will eventually become. When we are our own guide, we will never find ourselves matching the true plan and purpose for us. It is only when we let go of the self, and put God in charge in our lives, that we begin to shape ourselves by God's plan. By that Holy Plan, we become part of something larger than ourselves, and fit that role perfectly. That is our Perfect Ashlar.

~BT

Brother Tech is the author of A Christian's Perspective on Masonic Symbols: The Square and Compasses. He is an active member in the craft, loves motorcycles and prefers to remain anonymous.

Pancakes or Waffles?

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Bro. Tech

It is no secret that we Freemasons love our pancake breakfasts.  There are a score of pancake   (That and fish fries, but I have yet to visit a lodge having a fish fry dinner.) breakfast related memes on the internet and it is a very common joke amongst masons.

I often get a kick out of pancake breakfasts being put on by lodges (My Lodge does two a year, like clockwork, and other nearby lodges do them once a month to once a week!) because I have always been amused by stereotypes, specifically when people fulfill them.  The stereotype of the Freemason – putting aside the “We secretly rule the world to place the population in service to our Reptoid overlords” conspiracy junk – is a bunch of old men washing dishes after a pancake breakfast. 

At my Lodge, we have a fairly old gas stove/oven.  I'd call it ancient but I wouldn't want to offend any members of the lodge who remember when it was brand new.  My job since becoming a Freemason has been to heat up the sausage that we serve with our pancakes.  Of all the jobs, I prefer this one, as it lets me work without moving about all morning, and I can have a quick moment to say hello to guests without having an option to engage in idle chitchat. (I am an introvert who likes the concept of people far more than the finished product.)  So I feed into the stereotype, and enjoy it quite a bit.

I should remark, I don't enjoy it at all while I am doing it.  I get there insanely early, having to get up even earlier to make the half hour drive to lodge, then sit in front of a hot oven, making myself smell of sausage and sweat, for a few hours, then I help clean up.  But what I enjoy, and what makes it worth it, is talking to the folks of my lodge without being in the formal meeting setting.  Even more, listening to the members talk to one another freely, not bound by the restrictions of the official meetings. (For those non-masons, there are certain topics that we are forbidden to discuss during open lodge meetings).

The real "point within a circle".

A second thing that is no secret is that pancakes are generally round whereas waffles can be square.  (I'll give you a moment to recover from that revelation).   In Masonry, the circle is a representation of the person's mind or soul, whereas the square is a representation of the body or the physical world.  I have sometimes wondered why we don't offer waffles, not just for the symbolism, but also because I prefer them to pancakes.  Waffles hold syrup better, plus they are much easier surfaces for the spreading of peanut butter. (Don't knock it until you've tried it.)  Now, I would wager that 100% of the reason for waffles not making an appearance is that we don't have a waffle-maker, but the symbol-loving part of me finds it interesting that I eat round pancakes at an even that my body dislikes but my mind and soul enjoy.

~BT

Brother Tech is the author of A Christian's Perspective on Masonic Symbols: The Square and Compasses. He is an active member in the craft, loves motorcycles and prefers to remain anonymous.