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For those that don't know, I am a big cigar fan, smoking 2-5 a week. I find cigars to be an enjoyable time, that allows for self reflection, indulging in a simple pleasure that have been around for centuries. I always liked cigars, but really got into them after my long stint deployed. Cigars became a facet of all things downtime while in country. Men would congregate in from a couple to 100+ to enjoy cigars and each others companies. We smoked cigars when returning from a mission, or when mourning a loss, cigars were there for us ...

June 10, 1910 - January 10, 1976

Better known as Howlin' Wolf, Chester Burnett was an influential blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player.

Although his masonic membership is unconfirmed, a photograph of Burnett taken by Brian Smith in 1964 shows him wearing a masonic ring. The following correspondence is also worthy of note ...

This past Grand Lodge of Texas session, under article 242 was established the Maj John B. Jones Masonic Rangering Company. What is this organization, that is a question I have been asking myself for a while now, and am still unclear of the answer.

By the websites own words it allows for lodges for a small fee of $500.00 to register their lodge as a "Ranger Camp". While it is clear that the portion of the fee goes ...

Hiram I (Hebrew: חִירָם, "high-born"; Standard Hebrew Ḥiram, Tiberian vocalization Ḥîrām), according to the Bible, was the Phoenician king of Tyre from 969 BC to 936 BC, succeeding his father, Abibaal. Hiram was succeeded as king of Tyre by Baal-Eser I (935-919).

Reign
During Hiram's reign, Tyre grew from a satellite of Sidon into the ...

For those that don't know, I am currently getting caught up on all of my military education that I missed during my marathon deployments. During this time as an officer I have to learn many different types of leadership styles, models etc. As I do this, I can't help to think about how this effects me and my lodge and everything we do. I notice that rarely do officer of a lodge or even a master think about such things. While we do have Warden Retreats in Texas, they seem much more pragmatic and teach the 3 top officers more how to handle common "Masonic" situations ...

As a young man Sarkis H. Nahigian fled Armenia to escape persecution and arrived in the United States in 1890. He worked hard and became a successful businessman in Chicago and a devoted Mason. In 1948 he presented a priceless Oriental rug, 46½ feet long and 29½ feet wide, to the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. In presenting the gift he said:

"I came to America believing in miracles. I say these words with gratitude ...

The break room of the K-Mart was packed with employees carrying posters and CDs to be autographed by Brad Paisley, one of country music’s hottest new artists. This was a special public appearance by Brad and the break room was only a small indicator of what was waiting for him in the store and the rest of the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville.

Walking through the double doors that separated the stock room from the rest of the store ...

It was a beautiful sunny morning when I pulled up and parked next to the Detroit Masonic Temple. The sounds of the city filled the air, and people were walking about. It might be only 9:30 in the morning, but everything was alive. I've certainly traveled to Detroit for Masonic business before, but this time I wasn't at 500 Temple Avenue. Instead, I was at the main Temple on 3100 Gratiot Avenue ...

Kareem had only been a Mason for a few years. He had joined the fraternity while he served the Military in Korea. He was made a Mason in a military lodge that was properly recognized by a regular Grand Jurisdiction. He had just moved to the Midwest because he had been hired at a networking specialist for a university in the region. The friendly atmosphere of the Midwest was a nice change from the hostile inner-city streets where he had spent his childhood and he was glad that the change of scenery would benefit his young children ...

. . . travel in foreign countries and receive Masters Wages. Our Operative brethren received their Masters Wages in coin of the realm.

Speculatives content themselves with intangible wages - and occasionally some are hard pressed to explain to the wondering initiate just what, in this practical age, a Masters Wages really are ...

We as Masons have to realise the world has changed in the past seventy-five, fifty, even twenty-five years. In the good old days, men in their 20s and 30s would leave their job downtown, take a short trek home and after ingesting a meal prepared by their dutiful wife, indulge in the pleasantries offered by their nearby lodge, as there would be little else happening that evening.Today, men of that age have to brave a slow and painful rush hour as they drive home. Often, the wife is working ...

Freemasonry is seriously indebted to those dedicated members of our Fraternity who labor for months and years in learning the various elements of ritual. I have often observed however, that the effort and valuable time spent in memorizing and perfecting these magnificent moral lessons is not always fully exploited; surprisingly, this is not the result of faulty or halting memory, but rather ineffective delivery. How do we measure the effectiveness of delivery? Quite simply. Effective delivery is achieved whenever ...