The Craftsman's Journey: Part VII

 by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

Michael Shirley

The classic form of an F-5 mandolin hasn’t varied much since Lloyd Loar invented it and Bill Monroe made it desirable above all others. Some luthiers have paid homage to it while changing it a good deal, most notably the great John Monteleone, with his elongated scroll and entirely different headstock. But there’s something unexplainable about the standard F-5 that appeals to people like me: it’s just looks right.

That said, the stain colors can vary a lot, and can provide personality to an otherwise standard form. A classic tobacco sunburst looks entirely different than a blonde clearcoat, and a good luthier can match the look to the player’s personality. Joe matched both our personalities: he wanted an old-fashioned look, which wasn’t surprising, given that he’s a pretty old-fashioned guy, despite the fact that he builds computers for fun. I wear a three-piece suit with a pocket watch on a gold chain, so it wasn’t rocket science to figure out my taste. “It’ll be brown,” he said. As I said, we’re friends. But what a brown it turned out to be!

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/4956756

This is the seventh installment of Michael Shirley's Mandolin Series.  To be continued . . .

W.B. Michael H. Shirley is Past Master of Tuscola Lodge No. 332 and Leadership Development Chairman for the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He's also a member of the Illinois Lodge of Research, the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star, and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon. He's also a member of the newly-chartered, Illini High Twelve No. 768 in Urbana-Champaign. The author of several articles on British history, he teaches at Eastern Illinois University.

Harry Truman's Prayer

by Midnight Freemasons contributor

Michael Shirley

Harry Truman was not an overtly religious man. He was a Baptist and read the Bible a good deal, but credited Freemasonry rather than his church for prompting him to do so. He was far more concerned with making his way in this world than with speculating on his place in the next. But he was a man of prayer, and of one prayer in particular, which he recorded in his diary on August 15, 1950:

"The prayer on this page has been said by me--by Harry S. Truman--from high school days, as a window washer, bottle duster, floor scrubber in an Independence, Mo., drugstore, as a timekeeper on a railroad contract gang, as an employee of a newspaper, as a bank clerk, as a farmer riding a gang plow behind four horses and mules, as a fraternity official learning to say nothing at all if good could not be said of a man, as public official judging the weaknesses and shortcomings of constituents, and as President of the United States of America."

Oh! Almighty and Everlasting God, Creator of Heaven, Earth and the Universe:

Help me to be, to think, to act what is right, because it is right; make me truthful, honest and honorable in all things; make me intellectually honest for the sake of right and honor and without thought of reward to me. Give me the ability to be charitable, forgiving and patient with my fellowmen - help me to understand their motives and their shortcomings -- even as Thou understandest mine!

Amen, Amen, Amen

And Amen.

~MHS

W.B. Michael H. Shirley is Past Master of Tuscola Lodge No. 332 and Leadership Development Chairman for the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He's also a member of the Illinois Lodge of Research, the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star, and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon. He's also a member of the newly-chartered, Illini High Twelve No. 768 in Urbana-Champaign. The author of several articles on British history, he teaches at Eastern Illinois University.

Keeping My Focus In Check

by Midnight Freemasons guest contributor

Steven A. McBeth

I will do what I can to participate in Lodge, charity and events thereof when and where I am able.  I also hope I will maintain my attendance and good will, well after I am raised a MM, do my best to give (albeit quietly, and humbly) to charity, be it measured in monetary, or voluntary notes, and become a better man. 

I also, perhaps ignorantly, have a great appreciation for those of us who all though do not attend Lodge or functions on a regular or even sporadic basis, still pay their dues and remain Fraternally loyal.  You too my Brethren are doing your part.  As for me I will keep tightly locked lips on the actions or lack thereof on the part of my peers, and choose instead to transform any potential, future discord into affirmative, altruistic action, where I am able. 

My point is....  Complaining about the petty things others are or are not doing serves no good purpose.  It is dark, destructive and can be viewed as nothing more than an attention grab (Look at me and all the good that I do).  In turn, may I suggest, that we concern ourselves more of our own actions or lack thereof.  

I would put out this challenge to any Brother or Brethren who feel that others can, could, or should be doing more;  I challenge you to make that extra phone call, show up for Lodge once in awhile (as a newbie the better the attendance, the more attractive) , spread warm and welcoming Light to all who attend, and just be the best that you can be.  I assure you if you do this, they will come, or in this case, come back.  

Undeniably your inner Light will shine so bright, so attractively to the right people, they too will want what you have, and if they are curious enough to ask, and you are able to humbly inform them you did nothing more then what you know others could, should, or wished they would do, and you oppose despairing complaints and prefer instead constructive action, then you just might be surprised at how powerful are the good and altruistic actions, over the destructive and despairing word.  

I’m not saying go out and be an empty do-gooder, not at all.  I feel that most good deeds performed under pressure or obligation are no better than no good deed at all, and sometimes even worse.  Have you ever heard the saying “Let no good deed go unpunished”  Well I have, and through some discernment and unintentional experimentation I have found that any good deed I performed, especially when I was doing it more for myself then for others, simply backfired and caused damage, or more damage than if I had not.  

Like I have heard my Mother say many times; “Leave well enough alone”.

So I would like encourage myself and the rest of you, if you feel that something needs to be done, and it is a good thing, then don’t wait for permission, or someone else to do it, just do it.  If you have something good and nice to say, then say it, but do it for the sake of doing it, and say it for the sake of saying it, not because you have something to gain, rather because it just needs to be done, and I assure you, gain you will. 

The important thing is, when performing a good deed, we do so quietly, humbly, and altruistically otherwise it is no longer a good deed.  If I have read correctly, no spiritual brownie points will be added for such vain and proud attempts, rather deductions will be made.

One thing I love and cherish about our Great Fraternity is how little people actually know of all our good works, unless they choose to go looking for them or have been direct or indirect benefactors thereof.  This, my friends is a trait which God himself adores.  I have always felt that if caught in the act, and others find out, not by my mouth, but by others, this is a blessing, however if I do a deed and boast about, this serves only one purpose, vanity and pride, ok that’s two, but I am sure you get the point... 

“Do well to do well, not to do well”

~Steven A. McBeth

A Craftsman's Journey: Part VI

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

Michael Shirley

Mandolin outline

Top cut out

One of the problems with having an instrument built for you is waiting for it. I’ve never been very good at waiting. Procrastinating, yes, but waiting is different. It requires patience rather than laziness. But this mandolin building process has shown me something new. Joe has been posting pictures as he completes each new step, and they’ve made me eager for more. I’ve found myself hitting “refresh” several times every day in the hope that something new will appear. 

Building the sides

That impatience just demonstrates to me that I’m not an operative craftsman and why Joe is: he has the patience required to plan a job thoroughly and to do it right at each stage, and to do the extra little things required for a piece of work to be great. His brother Rick said to me the other day that Joe got all the patience in the family, and that’s why he’s so good at building instruments. Carving a mandolin is different than framing a house. Both require precision, intelligence, and attention to detail, as all good crafts do. Carving a mandolin also requires an appreciation for the musical and visual qualities of different kinds of wood, and, like all good music, a sense of when to stop; Joe says that when he’s carving he can feel the wood vibrate, and when it starts singing through his fingers he knows it’s where he wants it to be. 

Adding bars to top

That’s when he can start putting the pieces together. I understand how it works (I managed to pass physics in college by doing a term paper on the physics of tone production in an arch-top mandolin), but seeing it happen and talking about it with the maker has been a joyful and humbling experience. The craft of it is one thing; the art of it is something else entirely. When he told me he was satisfied with the tap tone of the top and bottom, had bent the sides, and was ready to start making it look like a mandolin, I was eager to see what it would look like. He already had the image in his mind. 

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/4956756

This is the sixth installment in Michael Shirley's Mandolin Series.

W.B. Michael H. Shirley is Past Master of Tuscola Lodge No. 332 and Leadership Development Chairman for the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He's also a member of the Illinois Lodge of Research, the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star, and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon. He's also a member of the newly-chartered, Illini High Twelve No. 768 in Urbana-Champaign. The author of several articles on British history, he teaches at Eastern Illinois University.