Time Keeps on Slippin' Into the Future

Twenty-nine weeks down - Twenty-three left to make a difference.

The past two weeks have marked lots of turning points in the calendar and in the year.

We just finished our first nine-day tour, our Southern loop, from April 27 to May 5, two weekends and the whole week in the middle.  When we started the tour, we had done fifteen Official Visits and now that the tour is over, we have fifteen left.  We did seven during the tour, our swing group.  We have only one weekend of OVs left for the south and we will do them the first weekend in June.  That leaves a fair chunk of them for our northern loop, from July 27 to August 4, interspersed with some receptions here and there.

Our loop was great but exhausting!  By the time we reached Sunday, I think that everyone was grateful that all we had that day was a breakfast and a long trip home!  But the OVs were great!  I can't count the number of members who came to me and my Worthy Grand Patron to say what a lovely and fun time they had at the Official Visit.  Young and old, Sisters and Brothers, said that they loved the shorter format and the better Ritual work that they had seen.  And having more time for refreshments and fellowship was great too!  I received some lovely orchid corsages and some fun carrying pieces too.

The loop included our trip up to Independence for our visit to Eastern California.  It was a lot of fun to take my Grand Family to the Lone Pine Film Museum and the Eastern California Museum.  They are very cool and you just don't get out there to see them.  Outside the Lone Pine Museum there is a monument that was set up in honor of some Shriners that donated items and funds to the museum and we took a picture around it.  There were also some costume items that had square and compass elements and pendants, so that was all pretty cool!

The Eastern California Museum had some new exhibits and items going in and we got to see a Piute dance during our entertainment piece.  There are a lot of legends and a lot of history in that region, but we never seem to hear or see it on this side of the mountains.  It is a great place to visit, but what a drive!

We also had our Southern Grand Family/Member Fun Trip to the Reagan Library.  After a tour, we ate lunch in the Air Force One Pavilion and took pictures of our group.  We also got pictures of us getting on Air Force One.  I found out that the President stands on the right, nearest the door with the Presidential Seal on it.  The Worthy Grand Matron being the top dog, I got to stand on that side with my Patron on my left.  Of course, that is where he belongs, so it felt very natural. :-)

Of course, seven Official Visits meant seven speeches to write, where I only usually have to do two or three, so that was also a challenge.  I have been writing a new speech for every visit and trying to tailor them to the theme or the message that is relevant to the area.  Fifteen more of those to go plus in June I start on reception remarks.  Those are easier though, since we get to talk about a person and tell funny, but not too embarrassing stories.  I just have to remind myself that however tempting it may be to tell some stories, what happened in the forest stays in the forest.

Next weekend I am in Auburn, Citrus Heights and Ione.