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The Knife and Fork Degree
I do not attend the meetings
I have not the time to spare
But every time they have a feast
You will surely see me there
I cannot help with the degrees
For I do not know the work
But I can applaud the speakers
And handle a knife and fork
I am so rusty with the ritual
That it seems like Greek to me
But practice has made me perfect
In the knife and fork degree.
From Charles Lloyd Cowser, Secretary
Olive Branch Lodge No. 792
Weatherford, Texas
Pity the Poor Secretary -- He needs it !
The Master of the Lodge gets the limelight, but the Master comes and goes annually, while the Secretary seems to go on forever! He is the man whose duties range from priest and pastor to that of lawyer, accountant, collector, bookkeeper, general business manager, purchasing agent, computer wiz, editor, office boy, general advisor and continual factorum. It is just as well to remember that the Secretary is often more important, in some respects at least, than any other official of the Lodge. He should not only be accorded the consideration involved in such case, but he should also be selected for his ability to fill all of the jobs of which the average member knows nothing. His bookkeeping involves a hundred and one accounts; he minutes every action of the Lodge; notifies members of their degrees and even indulges in coaching new members and floor instruction at times; he makes out vouchers and pays accounts; if a member is sick, he hears of it; if he dies, he is called; if a member is distressed, he is the first one sought out, and not infrequently he is called to settle family squabbles and to smooth out the rough spots in the daily life of Craftsmen. Altogether, he has a real job and one which is very rarely appreciated.
Copied -- Author unknown
Metric Masonry
Following an article in the Knight Templar magazine concerning the conversation to the Metric System there was a stream of letters to the editor. Among them was this gem of thought-provoking tongue-in-cheek logic:
"Bearing in mind the time honored adage that 28.349527 grams of prevention are worth 0.4535924 kilograms of cure, I am preparing for Metric Masonry.
"I see no difficulty in the explanation of the 60.96 centimeter guage and common gavel. Obviously the grave due east and west and 1.8288 meters perpendicular is child's play. My problem is with the pillars. How many millimeters in a cubit?"
Think on These Things
The Lord's Prayer contains only 56 words.
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address contains but 266 words.
The Ten Commandments contain only 297 words.
The Declaration of Independence contains a mere 300 words.
The Master Mason's Obligation has 771 words (more or less depending upon jurisdiction)
But, a recent U.S. Government order setting the price of cabbage,
contains 26,911 words !!!
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