Sheesh, my calendar is out of control. On Thursday we had a Thanksgiving dinner at Troy, DeMolay. We appointed committees and selected a chairman for each. On Friday I had an out of town visitor at work and numerous meetings. Then came Saturday.
I went down to the Scottish Rite on Saturday morning to receive 'Dad' training in DeMolay. After that we attended Squire's inititaion, DeMolay initiation, the DeMolay degree and the flower talk and then dinner. After that we had state installation, awards, ceremonies and speeches. Only then did we finally have a dance.
Today, on Sunday, I took my whole family to the St. Louis Symphony at Powell Symphony Hall. We got to hear a Mozart Piano concerto and Beethoven's 7th. Oh my God, was it awesome! If you ever have the opportunity to hear either the 7th or the 9th you should do it! It was an incredible experience. All my daughter could say was how badly she needed to get to a piano to start playing as soon as possible.
This evening I attended the School of Instruction at our lodge to practice the Senior Steward role in the 3rd degree. It went well, but I don't feel confident enough to perform that role on Wednesday when we will be conferring the degree.
This week ahead is just as busy, with the 3rd degree on Wednesday and a meeting of Napthali lodge on Thursday. I hopeful that I will be able to present two petitions that evening.
Finally, the big news, is that it appears I actually will be travelling to Paris for 10 days. What an incredible adventure that is going to be. Ever since I have joined the Freemasons I have been looking forward to visiting another lodge when I am traveling on business. I had planned to meet with a lodge in Zurich on November 9th, but that trip never materialized. Now, it appears, I will be in Paris next week and it would be such a special experience to visit a lodge there.
However, I really had no idea how to make such a thing happen. I simply have no facility for languages and, let's be honest, the French kind of prefer that you speak, well, French. I can respect that, so I didn't think I could make a visit happen. I couldn't even find a website since you effectively have to search in French to find anything.
I did post a message on a Freemason message forum asking if anyone knew who I could contact. I was very honored to receive a message from an American living in Paris who is currently the assistant to the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Continental Freemasonry in France. He offered to take me to a meeting a week from Monday where I will be able to observe a 2nd degree. The entire ceremony will be in French, but since my host will speak English I'm sure it will be a most intersting and unique experience. I plan to wear my tuxedo and white gloves and just soak in the entire experience.
I spent 30 minutes trying to find the location where I am suposed to meet the brother in Paris. I felt like I was playing a game of "Where in Paris is Waldo?"; even though I had a map I was referring to. Finally I pinpointed the location after over a half and hour of searching Google Earth satellite images. I was shocked when I drew a line from my hotel to the address to find it was only 4 miles. Paris is so densely packed with buildings it looked like it was 40!
Well, it is Sunday night. I am hopeful that I will be able to use my non-refundable tickets this Friday and actually end up in Paris this weekened. I hope that the business portion of my trip is extremely productive. I especially hope that the turmoil in France doesn't prevent me from taking the trip or threaten my ability to walk the streets in peace and tranquility. I hope that my experience at meeting Brethren in France will be a pleasant one and will form lasting memories. Finally, I hope that my family is safe while I embark on this selfish experience leaving them here over Thanksgiving holidays alone this year.
I will post an update to this blog when I find myself safely in Paris.
I went down to the Scottish Rite on Saturday morning to receive 'Dad' training in DeMolay. After that we attended Squire's inititaion, DeMolay initiation, the DeMolay degree and the flower talk and then dinner. After that we had state installation, awards, ceremonies and speeches. Only then did we finally have a dance.
Today, on Sunday, I took my whole family to the St. Louis Symphony at Powell Symphony Hall. We got to hear a Mozart Piano concerto and Beethoven's 7th. Oh my God, was it awesome! If you ever have the opportunity to hear either the 7th or the 9th you should do it! It was an incredible experience. All my daughter could say was how badly she needed to get to a piano to start playing as soon as possible.
This evening I attended the School of Instruction at our lodge to practice the Senior Steward role in the 3rd degree. It went well, but I don't feel confident enough to perform that role on Wednesday when we will be conferring the degree.
This week ahead is just as busy, with the 3rd degree on Wednesday and a meeting of Napthali lodge on Thursday. I hopeful that I will be able to present two petitions that evening.
Finally, the big news, is that it appears I actually will be travelling to Paris for 10 days. What an incredible adventure that is going to be. Ever since I have joined the Freemasons I have been looking forward to visiting another lodge when I am traveling on business. I had planned to meet with a lodge in Zurich on November 9th, but that trip never materialized. Now, it appears, I will be in Paris next week and it would be such a special experience to visit a lodge there.
However, I really had no idea how to make such a thing happen. I simply have no facility for languages and, let's be honest, the French kind of prefer that you speak, well, French. I can respect that, so I didn't think I could make a visit happen. I couldn't even find a website since you effectively have to search in French to find anything.
I did post a message on a Freemason message forum asking if anyone knew who I could contact. I was very honored to receive a message from an American living in Paris who is currently the assistant to the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Continental Freemasonry in France. He offered to take me to a meeting a week from Monday where I will be able to observe a 2nd degree. The entire ceremony will be in French, but since my host will speak English I'm sure it will be a most intersting and unique experience. I plan to wear my tuxedo and white gloves and just soak in the entire experience.
I spent 30 minutes trying to find the location where I am suposed to meet the brother in Paris. I felt like I was playing a game of "Where in Paris is Waldo?"; even though I had a map I was referring to. Finally I pinpointed the location after over a half and hour of searching Google Earth satellite images. I was shocked when I drew a line from my hotel to the address to find it was only 4 miles. Paris is so densely packed with buildings it looked like it was 40!
Well, it is Sunday night. I am hopeful that I will be able to use my non-refundable tickets this Friday and actually end up in Paris this weekened. I hope that the business portion of my trip is extremely productive. I especially hope that the turmoil in France doesn't prevent me from taking the trip or threaten my ability to walk the streets in peace and tranquility. I hope that my experience at meeting Brethren in France will be a pleasant one and will form lasting memories. Finally, I hope that my family is safe while I embark on this selfish experience leaving them here over Thanksgiving holidays alone this year.
I will post an update to this blog when I find myself safely in Paris.
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