my dad was a mason too, wore that ring purt near all his life IIRC
my dad was not a very honorable man at times
he talked to me a little about it when I got older, 'sposed to look out for one another do biz with fellow masons etc. and the death thing was IIRC a biggie, kinda like havin life insurance that your fellow lodge brothers would look out for your family if something happened to you. That's all I know of the subject.
my mom was a member of Eastern Star, kinda the chic version of Mason's from what I could glean, now mom she's a very honorable person
this was back when they were in their 30's or so, they weren't married and hadn't been for a long time
maybe active Mason members will have a different story to tell, but it doesn't seem as prevalent during my adult years as my parents
I'm not much of a joiner, but I've always been curious about the Shriners, they do some cool stuff, but I figure they must pay you big bucks to wear them lil monkey organ grinder hats!
any of you guys know what's up with that? where'd that tradition come from? Have always wondered since a lil kid, about all I see them do around here is sell vidalia sweet onions, but then I've not been to a Golden days parade in decades.
I'm pretty certain when we sing our anthem and mention the land of the free, the original intent didn't mean cell phones, food stamps and birth control.
