3          Officer’s Meeting, Spice Rack.............................. 7:30am

6          Stated Meeting & Dinner........................................ 6:30pm

13        Officer’s Practice, FC Degree............................... 7:00pm

18-19  Visit Pioneer Lodge, Phoenix, AZ

20        Officer’s Practice, FC Degree............................... 7:00pm

27        FC Degree, Bro. Michael Nolen............................. 7:00pm

31        Officer’s Meeting, Spice Rack.............................. 7:30am

6/1       Widow’s Brunch....................................................... 11:00am

FROM THE PILLAR OF WISDOM

GREETINGS FROM THE ORIENTAL CHAIR OF WISDOM

Brethren & Ladies:

This month’s Masonic topic is Happiness.

Many Americans are less happy today than earlier generations.  Jonathan Clements, of the Wall Street Journal, writes that we need to be smarter about how we spend our time.  “And no, that doesn’t mean watching more TV.” How you spend your time, something you have a fair amount of control over, is the subject of a major new study for academics Daniel Kalneman, Alan Krueger, David Schkads, Norbert Schwarz and Arthur Stone.  For the study the five professors surveyed about 4,000 Americans asking what they did the previous day and then inquired further about three randomly selected events from that day.  Those surveyed were asked to rate the three events based on feelings such as pain, happiness, stress and sadness. This information was used to calculate the percentage of time people were happy or unhappy.  The professors grouped the daily activity into six groups based upon the emotions associated with each.  The standout group was what the professors labeled “engaging leisure and spiritual activities”.  Visiting with friends, attending church, exercising listening to music, fishing, reading a book, sitting in a café, or attending a social gathering made people more happy, engaged with life and less stressed out.  These are activities we choose to do rather than have to do.  The implication being if we devote more time to these things we will be more satisfied with our lives.  The professors point out that there has been a significant increase in the hours devoted to “neutral downtime”.  Neutral downtime is mostly watching TV!  The study states that women spend 15 percent of their time staring at the tube, and men devote 17 percent of their waking hours on TV.  Watching TV may be low stress and moderately enjoyable but people are not as mentally engaged as they are when socializing or exercising.

So Brethren and Ladies put down that remote and join us for dinner and Lodge fellowship.  You’ll be happier and most likely live longer.

 So mote it be.

Fraternally yours,

Ronald L. Detzer, WM

FROM THE PILLAR OF STRENGTH

"1808 - 1908 - 2008" the title of an article noted how far the country had come over its previous century. In1808 Thomas Jefferson was President and it was five years after the Louisiana Purchase and two years after Louis and Clark's return from their trek across the continent. Life in America at that time was little different than that of the middle ages, except for a noble experiment of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It was at a time when a newly born America was yet to face the war of 1812 and the second war with Algiers in 1815 ending all tribute paid to the Barbary Pirates by our country. The issue of slavery and a terrible civil war to come would divide and then unite a stronger nation.

1908 was a heady time with both deeds and hope for the future. It's people saw Thomas Edison's electric lighted ball on New Years fall from NY Times Bldg. The Great White Fleet sailed around the world on its 43,000 mile tour.  Wilbur Wright flew his plane at Le Mans, France for 2hr.,20min .as the longest flight to that date beating out all others.  Adm .Perry began his conquest of the north pole.  Six automobiles began the race to Paris form NY City traveling east to west on a 20,000 mile journey  .Henry Ford began production of the Model T, a car affordable to the average American. The Singer Bldg was completed in the spring at 612ft. the highest inhabited bldg. in the world with the Metropolitan Life Bldg. at 700 ft. framed out that summer. In Oct. one of the most thrilling seasons of baseball was to see the Chicago Cubs win the National League Pennant and go on to beat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, a feat not repeated to this day. Teddy Roosevelt at the first ever Governors Conference called for the conservation of natural resources. It was a time of disposable razors, vacuum cleaners, Vitagraph flickered in theaters, Marconi's wireless sent messages across oceans and American know how was building the Panama Canal.  Predictions were made that in 2008 we would see gyroscopic trains doing 200 mph as wide as houses, aero planes traveling vast distances, ebb and flow of tides would replace coal to produce electricity, human organ transplants would be common, and pocket telephones would come into use. Americans of 1908 shared a belief the future would be better

Today we live in a nation that is safer, richer, healthier and more egalitarian than that of 1908 but a Pew research poll reports only one third of Americans are optimistic about the future which is sad. As for 2108 I will leave those predictions to the more intuitive among us. But be assured as long as the Wisdom, Strength and Beauty of our Constitution prevail in protecting Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness our future will be bold with wonders. May God Bless you and our home of the brave and ingenious

Sincerely and Fraternally,

Clint Black, PM, SW.

FROM THE PILLAR OF BEAUTY

Brethren;

Masonry is rooted in antiquity, aged by modernity and harvested in eternity as the men of every generation who have explored its most concealed recesses in search of truths have found. Masonry is not a replacement of one's religious teachings or that of faith. It's mission understood by most is the moral, intellectual and individual spiritual improvement within one's self in that end product of character and its relationship with society for it's benefit for all. But what is meant by Character in this context? Webster defines it as follows. " (1) The aggregate of features and traits that form the
individual nature of some person or thing. (4) Qualities of honesty, courage and integrity (5) Reputation. (6) Good repute.”   Now let’s look at this from the operative masons point of view. The mason has a choice of two building materials, mud and straw bricks or granite. The task is to build a structure to withstand the test of time and elements of nature. Both of those materials have character, but which will endure and what would you choose? So it is with all societies, peoples, institutions and governments no matter the intent, it is the strength of character of the individual parts of its make up that will determine its fate. In all the Blue Lodge Degrees working tools are explained along with other items and Masonic meaning of words and I submit to you all allude or direct to the formation of character as my short explanation. But then we have the 1st degree Gavel, 2nd degree Wooden Mauls and 3rd degree Setting Maul no other Masonic tools that I know of are described three different ways, could this be a clue of sorts? I've looked into the Masonic tool box and no where can I find a chisel, one would think a basic mason's tool to be used with the three variations mentioned above. Ancient Greek Masons used a tool called a charakter used to engrave, inscribe their work and is the ancient root word character is derived from. So now I call your attention back to mud and straw bricks vs granite to withstand and persons of strong character. Character is both a necessary material and tool to erect any lasting structure.

Fraternally,

Kyle Dau, PM, JW

 LADIES CORNER

Thank you to Fiona Garrett for supplying the spring decorations for the April Stated Meeting dinner and thanks to Lisa Achenbach for decorating!

The Lodge’s weekend, April 18-20, at the Shrine Camp in Laguna was fun-filled!!  Thank you to all the Lodge brothers and families for making the weekend memorable. Some of the moments to remember:

John Gamache baking a chocolate cake on his Coleman stove!

Steve Laurvick setting up his hammock and then demonstrating how to get in and out of the apparatus!

Jack Allen winning the scavenger hunt- extra points for capturing a ladybug!

Extra thanks to Bonnie Smith for wrangling chickens for the Saturday potluck!

Thanks to Devin and Ruth Breise for welcoming the campers to their beautiful cabin and esp. for the zip line for the children!

Thanks (I think) to Susie Gamache for getting us all hooked on the game “Apples to Apples”.

Please join us at the May stated meeting!! Anything could happen!

Anne

REMEMBER!  SUPPORT YOUR BLUE LODGE, SHARE WITH US IN THE JOY OF MASONRY

WIDOWS BRUNCH

Sunday, June 1, 2008 at 11am we will gather at the Catamaran Resort Hotel ton host and honor the widows of our departed Brethren.  Please contact our secretary John Gamache, PM for reservations and/or transportation.  Cost is $35 per person.

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AROUND THE FIRE AT SHRINE CAMP

APRIL 19^th

Our weekend at Shrine Camp was a resounding great time and success.  Thanks to all who attended and assisted in such a wonderful, fun experience.  Here’s an idea, next year let’s plan a chili - salsa cook off for Saturday afternoon

MAY  STATED MEETING DINNER MENU