Memorable Moments

Twenty-two weeks down, thirty left to make a difference.

How is it, I continue to wonder, that each individual day can go so slowly and the weeks and months just fly by?  I guess it depends on how busy you are and right now, that puts me at Warp 9!

We've had such a wonderful variety of events the past two weekends.  We started with an Association event in a castle and moved on to an awesome Official Visit and a Chapter anniversary.  Then we headed to two more Official Visits and wrapped up with a visit to Rainbow Grand Assembly.  Wow!

I try very hard to remember each event as its own separate thing, but I am sure that the pictures that people are taking will help with that.  Unfortunately, since my escort does not travel in the south very much (he's been working on Saturdays), I don't have a chance to get pictures of my own.  But I am sure that the ones that others are taking will eventually find their way to me.

But even in a series of memorable events, there are moments that always stand out.  One of those was in Lemoore, getting to sign the John L. Sullivan Bible.  I got a bit teary, I admit.  I think that signing the Bible is special because you can feel and appreciate the history of the thing.  Here we have a Bible that for decades has collected the signatures of Masonic leaders and Presidents of the United States that were Masons.  And now my Worthy Grand Patron and I get to be in it too.

I was surprised to learn that we haven't had a Masonic president since Gerald Ford though.  I would have thought that someone later would have been a Brother.  But apparently in the South, being a Mason is not a plus for a political life, so no more Brethren yet.  I have no doubt though that when another one comes along, the Brothers from Central California will be contacting him to ask for his signature in the Sullivan Bible.

I got a lovely commemorative folder with the history of the Bible commemorating my signing and I will treasure that forever.  It is one of those things that you see other people do and never really think that you are going to get a chance to do it until all of a sudden, there you are.  I think my Worthy Grand Patron's wife was getting teary too and she was just watching. :-)

Another memorable moment was sitting at the Grand Assembly for Initiation.  Each year, the Rainbow Grand Officers perform the Initiation ceremony at their Grand Assembly session, dedicated to the leaders of the adult orders that sponsor them.  This year, we had eight new Sisters.  You can tell looking at the girls which ones are excited about being initiated in this big auditorium in front of a thousand people and which ones are a little scared until they realize that it is really okay after all.  We got to give the girls welcome gifts after the initiation was over.

I also had the pleasure of getting to say a few words at the Grand Assembly session and had a wonderful time getting to discuss the similarities and parallels between our two Orders, both part of the Family of Freemasonry.  I hope that some of them will be inspired to become some of us when they turn eighteen.

This coming weekend is a weekend off to try to catch up on everything, then we swing into April with Official Visits in Lodi and San Francisco and our first Grand Family/Member Fun Event, a cruise of San Francisco Bay.