Bryan's Blog

  Freemasonry Thanks You 2020, No, Really.   This year has been amazing for Freemasonry, more especially the future of Freemasonry. This year started out like every other, 4-5 nights out a week, mostly doing things we were obligated to do but not really enjoying ourselves. Then everything came to a grinding halt, no more meetings. Horrible right? The pandemic realigned my priorities, my lodge’s priorities, and my family’s priorities. I completed several projects that I did not have time for around the house previously. My lodge formed work parties, created a beautiful social room in our building, and completed several other much-needed updates in the building. Most important to me, I reconnected with my family. I pulled myself away from Freemasonry to take a much more local vacation than we would have to Niagara Falls. A stop and smell the roses moment for sure. Within a month or two, we were holding business meetings and lodge social gatherings online, and the fratern...

  Memento Mori (I wrote the following in November 2019) Over the past few weeks, my family and I sat in a small hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, and watched my father pass away. Arguably the hardest thing I have ever had to experience. The doctors had done everything they could, it was up to his body to fight the sickness and there just wasn’t enough strength left in him. So, we sat, taking turns in the small ICU room, slowly watching each grain of sand slip through his hourglass, unsure how many remained. One of those evenings, I received a call at 1:00 A.M., the doctor on the other line was concerned his vitals were dropping and he couldn’t get ahold of my mother. The hospital being close by, I was there quickly. They had stabilized him with medication and a breathing mask. I recall thinking for the first time that my father was dying.  No way, he will be fine, he has been through worse. A tremendous weight fell on me and when it began to lift, I found myself, victim, t...