"A Nearly Perfect Masonic Moment"

Back when I was playing music for money with bands a lot, every once in a while we had a night when everyone was on his game, the club was pretty full and the crowd was into what we were playing, the groove was running like a freight train, the stars and planets were in perfect alignment, God smiled and the angels sang and at the end of a set everyone looked at each other and said: Damn, I wish we′'d had a tape rolling because that never happens in a studio! Well, last night at James Island Lodge #396 something exciting happened. A nearly perfect Masonic moment. Three men were initiated into the first degree of Masonry surrounded by brotherly love.

It might well be asked why I found that exciting when men are being initiated into Masonry somewhere in Charleston SC. practically every week. Perhaps the ritual was flawless, or the room was packed with James Island members, or the Grand Lodge degree team put on the degree? No, no and no. Some members of the degree team were at their position for the first time, so inevitably there were occasional bobble in ritual. As there were from time to time with the more experienced brothers, myself especially. There wasn′t a Grand Lodge officer within miles. The Lodge had a good crowd of brothers there, but the room wasn′t packed. What made it exciting was not that the ritual was perfect, although it was a heartfelt degree put on quite well, but that when the candidates became brothers and came to light they were surrounded by brothers representing seven or eight different Lodges who were there just because they love each other and Masonry.

They weren′t there to rub shoulders with Grand Lodge, they weren′t there to score Lodge of the Year points or to take a flag or a traveling Bible back to their Lodge because no Lodge other than the host had more than two or three there. They weren′t there because it was a beautiful night to go visiting, because short of a hurricane the weather was about as foul as it ever gets around here. They were there because they knew there was a degree being put on and there was nothing more pressing demanding their presence. So instead of vegging out watching TV at home, they braved the elements to watch three guys they didn′t even know take their first step in Masonry. And they didn′t sit on the sidelines and kibitz or criticize; they pitched in and helped where needed. They were there to be there for their brothers. The pure essence of Masonry.

I don′t know if everyone else was as moved as I was, but I want to thank James Island Lodge #396 and the brothers from the other Lodges for what was for me a nearly perfect Masonic evening. For a couple of hours last night we caught Masonic lightning in a bottle. Damn, I wish we′d had a tape rolling!