Those Dang Car Decals

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

RWB Robert H. Johnson

Last night on the way home from work, I took serious notice of a "whiz" noise coming from my front left tire. I thought maybe it was under inflated. When I got home, I checked it out and was instead convinced it was a bearing issue. And if its one set of bearings, you can bet the other set isn't far behind. So on my way home the next day, I took my car to the local shop. $900 was the estimate and it needed to get done.

Fast forward a few hours, and about one hundred pages of the book I was reading and the gent called me up to the counter. The Jeep was all set. After some brief conversation about the bearings, he casually said, "I noticed the symbols on the Jeep. Freemasons right?" I confirmed to which he asked, "How does one get started in that?" I smiled politely, opened my wallet and handed him my phone number and said, "You just did."

He gave me his card and number as well, we shook hands and I was off. The "whiz" noise was gone and the Jeep is driving like her old self again.

~RHJ

RWB, Robert Johnson is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Waukegan Lodge No. 78 where he is a Past Master. He also serves as the District Deputy for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry and is also an avid home brewer. He is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon.

When the Unenlightened Approach

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

RWB Robert H. Johnson

There are many times I am talking about Freemasonry in my day to day life. I'm sure you're no different. We're brothers, and we like to discuss the craft, but what happens when someone comes near and isn't a Freemason?

Let's look at a potential scenario: You're at the office, you're talking to a couple of co-workers who are also brothers of the fraternity. One of the brothers starts talking about some sensitive topics and he can't see the approach of someone who isn't a member (a profane) from behind. You panic, what can you tell them so they silence their speech? Or change it up?

A review of an entry in Mackey's Encyclopedia gives us the answer. "R" for "Rains". Apparently, if this happens, you should simply say, "It rains." and that's all the warning anyone needs.

Rains:

It was a custom among the English Freemasons of the middle of the eighteenth century, when conversing together on Freemasonry, to announce the appearance of a profane by the warning expression It rains. The custom was adopted by the German and French Freemasons, with the equivalent expression, Es regnet and II pluie. Baron Tschoudy, who condemns the usage, says that the latter refined upon it by designating the approach of a female by II neige, the French for It snows. Doctor Oliver says (Revelations of a Square, page 142) that the phrase It rains, to indicate that a Cowan is present and the proceedings must be suspended, is derived from the ancient punishment of an eavesdropper, which was to place him under the eaves of a house in rainy weather, and to retain him there till the droppings of water ran in at the collar of his coat and out at his shoes. [Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Book 2]

So there you have it, next time you're in this position, remember the phrase. 

~RHJ

RWB. Robert Johnson is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Waukegan Lodge No. 78 where he is a Past Master. He also serves as the District Deputy for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry and is also an avid home brewer. He is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon.

The Secrets are All Out There, Jack

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Bro. Mike Kennelly

I recently had a co-worker ask me about joining the Freemasons. He noticed the emblem on my car and of course my Masonic ring. I was excited. Our small lodge does not receive many petitions. 

I asked why he was interested in joining the fraternity and the answer he gave stopped the petition process cold. “I have been having a lot of medical issues, Jack” This guy is a huge Duck Dynasty fan and my children informed me that some character on the show calls everybody "Jack", so now this guy follows everything he says with "Jack". 

He continued, “I have heard that if you’re a Mason you can get help with your medical bills”.  I replied “My name is Mike, and that is not a good reason to join. Yes there are some innate advantages to being a Mason, which comes with the work and time you put in, but Masons join to help others, not to help themselves."

He was not happy about it but I told him I could not sign his petition to the lodge at that time, and that maybe he should learn more about the organization before deciding if Masonry was right for him. It turns out, Masonry was not right for him. 

Shortly after this he began to somewhat harass me about Freemasonry. He apparently did some “research” online and found out as much as he could about the secret rituals, handshakes, and other secrets of the fraternity. 

One afternoon he cornered me and said, “You Masons are nothing special, Jack. All of your “secret” rituals are on line, HAHA!” He caught me off guard but I stayed cool and said sarcastically “Yeah, that stuff is probably all true, I mean, it is on the internet.” and then I walked away.  He did make me think though, "Is that true? Is all of our ritual really posted online?"

I did my own research and was really surprised as to what I found. He was right, all of our secret rituals, handshakes, and passwords are out there and very easy to find.  I did find a lot of fluff as well--goats, skulls, etc. 

Another day he cornered me again. “You Masons are liars, Jack. You guys say that you do not show favoritism to other Masons but from what I read that's not true. I read about a guy who got out of a traffic ticket because he and the police officer were both Masons.”

Again I didn’t react or take the bait. I just smiled and said, “Doesn’t work for me, it seems that there must not be any Masons of the Department of Public Safety because I get a couple of tickets every year." But, out of his negative darkness I did find light. I had an afternoon free and used that time to contemplate his questions and remarks. 

First off, let me tell you how I feel about the fact that our “secrets” are easily found online. At first I was saddened and upset that some brothers, for whatever reason, decided to publish our rituals online. I thought of motivation. "Was this a brother that had been kicked out? Was it for financial gain? Why would someone go through the effort of passing through the degrees just to give it away?"

But then, in a flash, I realized the truth, and was no longer sad or upset. The truth is that is does not matter. Sure it would be great if all of stuff we kept behind the tyled door remained there, but the actual physical acts of ritual are to me,  not the important part of Masonry. What is important is the promise of being a Mason.

When men become Masons they make a promise not to give the secrets of Masonry to anyone. Yes, the secrets are out there, given away by men who are far from Masonic, but the key is that no one will ever hear the secrets from me. 

It's similar to money. Physical money is worthless. It’s just a piece of fancy green paper. It has no value and is not backed by any physical commodity such as a shiny rock. The value of money is in the amount of a product someone is willing trade you for it. The rituals we do are the same.  Yes they are intellectually valuable to Masons but without understanding them in the proper context they are worthless. To non-masons just knowing the ritual is akin to trying to pay your dues with pesos. No value, wrong context. 

But then why would any man want to become a Mason if everything Masons do can be found out for free and without going through the work of passing through the degrees?

This is where the real value of being a Mason comes in. The real value is in the man that can keep a secret, not in what the secret actually is. A man that can keep his word about something that many find unimportant and even silly, tells me something. It says that my trust in him can extend much farther that the lodge room. If you cannot be trusted to keep even the most trivial secrets to yourself when asked to do so, especially after promising to do so, how can you be trusted with anything? 

I certainly would not go into business with or let that person borrow money. I would never tell them anything personal for fear that they would turn around and tell it to the man standing at his other shoulder. I cannot trade the secret of ritual for anything, it can be found for free, so holds no "intrinsic" value, but the trust earned by proving that you can keep a secret can be traded for the rest of your life, that does.

That brings me to the statement about Masons looking out for Masons. Yes Jack, you are 100% correct. Masons do look out for other Masons. We do this because Masons come with the value of trust. No matter where they have travelled from, a true Mason has done the work to learn the secrets but more importantly the Mason has done the work to keep his secrets. This Masonic trust does sometime have advantages. Sometimes it can help you land a job, the trust can lead to business contacts and more business opportunities, and this trust can lead to lifelong relationships that always pay you back and I do not mean monetarily. And according to “Jack”, being a Mason can save you  traffic ticket money and points on your licensee, but I have never had such luck.  

Membership has its privileges and that is a natural part of life. Just as gangs attract like-minded thugs and criminals to fill their ranks, Masons attract like-minded men to help fill their ranks as well, both in and out of the lodge. 

So I will continue to not take the bait from the profane when it comes to Masonic Privilege. Not only do I value my ability to keep the secrets I also value my time. And that is my two cents, Jack! 

~MK

Bro. Michael Kennelly is a new Master Mason being raised in Williams - Grand Canyon Lodge #38. He is also the father of three ages; 16, 14, and 10, he is a busy brother. He is a utilities director for a private golf course in Flagstaff AZ. Bro. Kennelly lives by the motto "CDC" (consistency + discipline = CONFIDENCE).