The Widow's Son by Robert Anton Wilson
Wow, I'm so full of crap it's not funny. First I write a post claiming I'm bored, or at least have lost my obessesion for Freemasonry, and then I spend the rest of the day reading this book. I am a huge Robert Anton Wilson fan, but I haven't read anything of his for some time. When you first read RAW it kind of kicks you in the head. Then, I have to be honest, he starts to repeat himself a lot. He has a certain 'schtick' he likes to use and once you are used to it, it doesn't have the same impact it used to have.
I tried reading his Illuminatus trilogy which is so popular but I could never get into it. The narrative didn't have any structure I could hold onto. It was as if the illusion of 'fiction' was just some thin skeleton on which to allow him to go off on diversionary topics that piqued his interest. I would enjoy bits of it, but could never get into the whole thing. I will read it all in time, but for now I'm sticking with this series.
Afer a post I made here some weeks ago I decided that I had to give RAW a fresh look. I wanted to see if he had some new material I hadn't read before. I bought quite a few books but picked this one up first, obviously because of the title. It turns out it isn't new, it is copyright 1985, but it is certainly new to me.
I cannot say enough how much I am enjoying this book! It reminds me very much of 'Focaults Pendulum' which was highly recommended to me by my friend John Miles. John, if you are reading this post you should really buy this book, I think you will get a big kick out of it.
It touches on philosophy, history, conspiracy, and tells a fairly ripping good yarn as well. I love the characters and can't wait to find out what happens to them next.
It is a surprising amount of fun to read historical fiction (a completely fictional novel that incorporate real characters from history as foils for the authors metaphysics.)
So much for being bored with Freemasonry, I'm right back in the mix again. This evening my lodge Naphtali #25 conferred two Fellowcraft degrees. I acted as Senior Steward. I enjoy escorting the canidate through the ceremony acting as his trusted guide. Next Wednesday my lodge in Wentzville will be conferring a 3rd degree and, the very next night on Thursday, my other lodge Naphtali will be conferring one there as well. I'm very excited about doing a 3rd degree at the Masonic Temple. I imagine all of the history of that building, all of the great men who once met there, are still echoing in the room. The same place where Charles Lindberg received his degree or Harry Truman sat as a Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri. Here I get to perpetuate that tradition, even though this building sits largely empty today.
It got me thinking of Russ Tinker's 'Masonic thought for the day" today...
Today, as never before, our country needs the support and loyalty of all its citizens, and I am sure that as long as there are three million Freemasons in the country, all good men and true, who believe in a system of morals, and the Constitution of the United States, we can safely face the future, no matter what it may bring forth.
Harry S. Truman
~ Brother Harry S. Truman was born on this day in 1884.(Today there are only 1.7 million Freemasons. Of course, then again, there ain't nearly as many Elks, Moose, Optimists, Lions, or Boy Scout leaders. Go figure.)
Comments
About the only other thing I'd say is that going by some of your recent posts, you're clearly under an insane amount of stress these days, due mostly to crappy events in your life that you're not responsible for (e.g., your dad's illness, the loss of your friend, and the need to sell the lake property.)
That means you want to take it easy and approach big decisions slowly for awhile. The whole bored-with-Masonry/not-bored-with-Masonry dichotomy is a good case in point. Chill out for awhile, work on the *really* important stuff... and see if the rest of it is willing to wait for you.
-- jm
Which is: Everyone.
The POV changes from person to person often without warning, in more-or-less stream-of-consciousness mode, illuminating the fact that All is One, thjat each is a part of the Greater Univeral Mind.
The Historical Illuminati Chronicles are fascinating, too. In fact, I re-read them just before being initiated into Freemasonry years ago, hoping that my soon-to-be-new-reality, that of a Mason, would in some way reflect what I read.
Can't say that it has, but still, the books are great fun to read.
Sigismundo forever!
Widow's Son
The Burning Taper
My friend then did something stupid. He leant it to another friend who's last name was Noid. Mr. Noid then proceeded to read and finish the book.
Then something went screwy.
The next we heard on the news, Noid was holding a Dominos Pizza place and its employees hostage demanding $100,000, a helicopter and the next volume of the chronicles, The Widow's Son! The police were able to get him and the hostages out without anyone getting hurt.
Apparently, Noid thought the president of Dominos was coming into his apartment, rearranging his furniture and spying on him. It probably didn't help that Dominos main advertising campaign at that point was "Avoid the Noid!"
We always joked that he should have demanded the third volume, Nature and Nature's God, instead since it was taking forever for that volume to be published.
I'd forgotten that strange event from our Digitarian past. That was certainly a bizarre day.
— W.S.