Reunion And Grand Lodge Ahead

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Hello, hello, hello. Hello, brother Matt Stone.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Buddy, how are you, brother Chris Burns?

SPEAKER_00 0:52

It's been so long, my guy. Uh yeah, we've kind of yeah, we haven't talked in a bit, especially not like this. I mean it's been a year at least.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

Uh it's been about a year because we did a recap of Grand Lodge 20. Yeah. Yeah, we did a recap which was entertaining. Um, and of course, I mean, a lot of things have happened across the state. A lot of things have happened in our individual lives. And yeah, why not why not come back? I mean, we got Grand Lodge coming up here, I think, what, next month? So we can go ahead and start kicking some Hornets' nets now and see what see where we land.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Hopefully our Hornet's nets kicking days are behind us, but yeah. Chris Burns, those days are never behind us, sir. I agree with you. I agree with you on that. So buddy. For me, it's easy because I haven't done anything in the fraternity in the last year other than paying my dues. Why don't you catch us up on what you've been up to?

SPEAKER_02 1:45

Gosh, uh, where to begin? My goodness. Um, well, uh, so at our last podcast, because I went back and watched it the other day, um, you had asked what was on the future, what was on the horizon for me. Yeah. Um, and I said that I was gonna be quiet for a time. And I kept my word. I've been quiet, I've been a good boy. I've sat over in little district 21, which is I think the largest district in the state, but let's, you know, we're not gonna go there. Um, but I did. I was quiet, I was calm, I I worked to restore peace, balance, and harmony to the force, as it were. Um, and yeah, we've definitely made some progress on that. Uh definitely a lot of progress. We've had some things come up, um, you know, just with individuals, stuff that's not really publicly available, but um that's true probably for everybody everywhere. Yeah, yeah. And and honest, and honestly, to to wrap up on one of the last conversations we've had, uh we had on that same episode

Turkey Creek Collapse And Merge Plan

SPEAKER_02 2:40

of what was going on with Turkey Creek. I can now reveal what I was attempting to do with Turkey Creek. Um yeah. So basically at the end of Grand Lodge last year, brothers, if you didn't see the episode where we recapped Grand Lodge from uh 2025, uh definitely go back and watch that. Um we had a lot of fun. Uh we definitely had a lot of fun that time. Yeah. Um, but either way, I was celebration.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

We were celebrating.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

We were. Um, so I was trying to work out a deal with Turkey Creek because in District 20, uh, which has like DeSoto Lodge, uh, Endon Lodge, you know, Olin S. Wright number 79, all those people. There were two lodges that were in pretty close proximity to one another. There was Olin S. Wright, number 79, and Turkey Creek number 248, or sorry, 248, because I've recently learned you have to pronounce the hundred. But what I was trying to do is Turkey Creek Lodge and Olin S. Wright Lodge are 10 minutes apart from each other. I mean, they're super close. Which we even have lodges that are in the same building together. Like I know of one lodge out in um out in District 20 uh 21 over here in Polk County that they have three lodges meeting in the same building. And it's it just blows my mind whenever I see that. I'm like, why not consolidate the lodges?

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Surely they're overflowing with memberships. That's why there's three, right? They just can't possibly contain all the members of the close.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

But um, but either way, I had worked up a deal. I spoke with most worshipful tally. He called me, by the way. Um, I spoke with most worshipful tally, and he was like, you know, Matt, what's your idea for Turkey Creek? How can I help get it back? And I said, honestly, most worshipful, I don't think that's the best call now. And he goes, why not? And I said, Because I can't get, you know, 15 to 20 brothers, I can't get 15 or 20 guys to commit to this, even though we were having offers from brothers all across the state to just be members at our lodge, we wouldn't have had an officer line at the lodge. That didn't make sense to me. So I worked with most worstful Foster and most worstful Tally of saying, hey, why don't we consolidate Turkey Creek Lodge and Olin S right into one uh into one lodge, keep the oldest number, and then go from there. If we can get them to where they can have their own home now, they've got money in the bank because they sold their old building. They can work and, you know, whatever needs to be done at Turkey Creek Lodge, they can, you know, replace windows or air conditioners or whatever it is that's needed there. And then boom, you've got a lodge with a healthy bank account. They have their own building at this point, or they would have, well, they would have had their own building. And then we're good. We're off to the races. So uh most worstful tally had said, okay, then I'll issue you a temporary charter. You know, we'll keep it open for like 30, 60 days, something like that. I said, honestly, hold off. I'm like, hold off on that. Let me try to broker the deal first. If I can't broker the deal, then I don't want to reset the clock on Grand Lodge getting rid of the property and the assets. So because they have they have a five-year clock. So once they pull a charter or take over a charter, they can't touch the assets for five years. So what happened with Turkey Creek? They just disappeared? Uh yeah, Turkey Creek just disappeared. A lot of brothers left the craft, um, you know, from the from the different turbulence, you know, that we all experienced. Um, some of the brothers left, some of the brothers did a full, you know, denouncing of masonry, uh, which I thought was interesting. Um, so they like wrote letters to Grand Lodge and everything.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Um, yeah, and so Turkey Creek. It was a lot. I mean, what what you guys went through at Turkey Creek was a lot. I mean, you were there. You told me. Yeah. It was it was hairy there for a while. And you were disrespected, and it was you know, the the individual that is no longer with us. And um, they they just were uh a hurricane of uh disharmony for an entire year of that. So yeah, like I I could understand. I myself had to take a break from Freemasonry. Yeah, because of that individual.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Which which honestly, and for as rough as last year was, and it it it was rough, I don't think there's a Mason in the state that would sit there and go, no, it was fantastic. Like it was rough.

New Leadership And Repairing Trust

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Um, I will say I will give all the credit in the world to most worshipful Tally, uh Tally Atala.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Yeah, so last time we talked it, we were hearing good reports, everybody was very optimistic, and here we are. How has he done?

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Honestly, I I think he's done as I think he's done as good as he can. I mean, you got most worshipful Jeff Foster up there, who I freaking love that guy.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

What's that? To me, he's the epitome. He's like the ideal of if I could mirror any Mason, it would be him.

SPEAKER_02 7:12

Yeah. He's he's awesome. Um, and then like I said, most worshipful Tally. Uh the man's been traveling the state, shaking hands, kissing babies, um, you know, really trying to restore some of that that we lost in 2025. So um, I gotta give the man all the credit in the world. I mean, especially whenever he saw me out after Grand Lodge and he was like, I want to help you. I was like, You mean the Grand Lodge wants to help? Like it was f it was totally foreign to me. Um, you know, but he but he did. I mean, and and we've talked a couple of times since then. And again, um, you know, we we had the GMOV uh over at at our lodge at Lakeland Lodge 91.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Um, this year are they the uh because the year before, obviously when the chaos was happening, it was like apparently extremely formal and there was a lot of yeah, it it was not that at all.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

So so for context, we have seven AC systems at our lodge, and I think only like two of them are working because the rest of them are in just areas that we don't use in the building anymore. Um so it was like the the cafeteria that we had, I think we had like 200 something people there. We stuffed them all into the cafeteria. It was 84 degrees in that room while they were eating dinner. I felt so bad for everybody. We had an AC company go there and try to fix it up the more or the day before, and it just bombed. It totally nuked the compressor. Uh, so I felt so bad for everybody, but um most works still tally. I mean, he he cracked a joke. He was like, Thank you, Lakeland Lodge, uh, for hosting and this very warm reception. So reception. He's done jokes. He does, but I mean he did. I mean, he he made me and I think one or two other brothers stand up, and this was this was wholesome for me. Um, whenever we had the GMOV, uh, gosh, I think July or something last year. Is he made a couple of us stand up and he said, These brothers are the future of masonry. He goes, It's not us old people sitting up here in the East. He goes, These brothers are the future of Masonry. And I was like, Wow, that's a mentality that I don't think I've heard out of Masonry at all, you know, my short time that I've been here.

Generations Taking Charge In Lodges

SPEAKER_00 9:13

It's uh kind of a reflection on society, I think, in general. I like you uh brought that book, The Fourth Turning to me. And I I read it and we talked about it. And we're in one of those obvious cycles right now. Uh where it seems like an older generation wants everything to be about them. They got all the money, they got all the power, they got all the authority. Um but it's it does seem like maybe maybe it's turning, hopefully. And uh the young people are gonna become the heroes here soon.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

Yeah, I it's a great book, man. I if if you guys have not read The Fourth Turning, you need to read that book. It is a phenomenal book, and it'll it'll help your generational communication so much it's insane. Because then you'll learn how to speak to people. Like you can't speak to me the same way that you can speak to a boomer, the same way you can speak to Chris, who's a Gen Xer. You know, we all have different you know ways that we speak to one another.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Good luck speaking to a boomer. I used to think the millennials were the tough ones, but now I think the boomers are.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

Yeah, they they are. They are they're very steadfast in their ways. Uh I will say that.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

So the spoiled generation. They not at all, man.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

It's it's it's the generation of 55 plus communities and woodstock and all that kind of fun stuff. Um, yeah, no, I I'm actually I'm since we're talking about generations and uh you know getting you caught up on what's happened in the last year, um I'm actually super excited for where we're headed in masonry. So in District 21 that I'm a part of, um, I think we've got four or five lodges out of the 13 that are currently being ran by millennials. And that is a it is a great thing because these guys are putting their foot on the gas and they're not backing off either. Um, so it's like we're coming up with degree teams, you know, we're all communicating much better, uh communicating much better than we have in the past. Um Tuscan Lodge pulled theirs off the market. They've got this beautiful uh thro two or three-story building in downtown Bartow that they put up for sale, and the new master gets in there, first thing he talks about, all right, we're pulling it off the market. Like we're gonna fix it. And so sure enough, I think it was just this past weekend. Um, they totally replaced their roof and they're starting to work and fix that building back up, and it's gorgeous. I mean, the building's beautiful. And it's so encouraging to hear. Yeah, and it's beautifully set up for a fellowcraft degree if you catch my drift. Like for a fellowcraft degree, that is the lodge to have it in.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Um like when I joined uh the fraternity, I was younger. And now I'm transitioning into that like greybeard, you know. Well, I mean, you legit have a gray beard, but you're not you don't get to be called a graybeard yet. Aww. Sad day. Where we're kind of like uh the older group. And uh it's encouraging to hear there's young people coming up and actually taking the charge and actually getting engaged to help all this thing because without them doing that, we're where are we headed? We're it's not good. But you know, what I hope is that there's some there is some gray beard there that's kind of helping and guiding and giving advice and like you know hopefully we haven't lost all that like historical knowledge about the fraternity uh individual lodges. No, I don't I don't think young people are there, they kind of need that person in the background too.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

It it also depends on the older person, that gray warden that you and I have talked about before out of that generation. Um, because we've got there's a a past master from our lodge, um, phenomenal brother, Joe Rogers. He is awesome. That man could be a gold card holder tomorrow, and he just doesn't. And so I asked him at one point, I was like, Well, what's the purpose of the card system? Like, this doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. And he was telling me that it is a mark of proficiency that you've hit a point and you've memorized all this stuff. And I was like, all right, cool. Like I might be interested at that point. Um, and he goes, but it also gives points to the lodge. So apparently the Grand Lodge has like a point grading system that I didn't knew nothing about. For education, yeah. Yeah. So either way, if you have more card uh card holders there, it's reflected more favorably with the Grand Lodge. And I was like, I mean, I've already got it memorized, so I might as well just get in the card and help my lodge out, you know, get score a couple of points. But then you also have the opposite, right? So Joe Rogers will pull me aside and he'll, hey, um, brother, it's actually this. Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. You know, and he'll very gently push you through very similar to how I've described Dave Wenzel from District 20. Um, Dave Wenzel, I mean, that dude will pull you aside. Hey, brother, I know you're struggling with this. Here, let me teach you how to do it. It's like that's what we need. Yes. The other one that we have in the lodge, I'm not going to mention his name. I love him to death. I'd do anything of the world for him, but he's one of those that he'll he'll rip you up and down. He just doesn't mean anything by it. Right? It's just he's a he's a former military guy, and he'll just, I mean, he'll rip into you, and then finally, like, I'll open the book and I'll be like, hey, uh, Worshipful, it's actually this. It's right here. Well, well, that's not the way that I memorized it.

SPEAKER_00 14:08

It's right here. Yeah, that's where a lot of the problem comes in, is the people that I've seen that so many times in so many different lodges. People that just get hung up on their own uh basically lodge culture, the way they like to do things or the way they've always done things. We were talking about this before we were recording. You can literally whip off a book and show them, and they'll say, I don't give a damn what that book says. This is how we've always done it, and this is how we're gonna do it.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

And for you, Florida Masons, by the way, I don't know if you have been made aware or informed of this, but there is a new floor workbook that is out

Ritual Standards New Book And Proficiency

SPEAKER_02 14:45

now. That is the 2025 revision, and things changed, by the way. I just want to go ahead and give you all a friendly heads up. Get that 2025 book and start diving into it because it is different than the previous version.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

It's still the combined, like it has the words and the and the uh actions there.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Yeah, it's yeah, it's it's got all that. Obviously, most things are ciphered in it. You know, the things that aren't ciphered are the things that we can all read to the public. Since last you and I spoke, I mean, there's been that you know great progress from the Grand Lodge to the craft. It's been phenomenal. Um, I actually was installed and elected and installed as junior warden of my lodge. So I was a junior deacon at Turkey Creek, then I was a senior deacon, then I went to Lakeland and became a junior deacon again. Um, and now I'm junior warden. So and I gotta tell you, junior warden. Hey, there it is. Thanks. There it is. Um But I I will say this, and I this is frustrating. We've got to come up with a way to fix this. This is annoying. I never know how much food to cook. Yeah, I don't I don't know if we're gonna have 15 brothers there or 50 brothers there. I have no clue, so it's always way too much food. You you overdo it, you just go buy. Yeah, because the other thing I did, I got smart. Uh the other thing I did is I went and bought a bunch of to go uh to go to containers. So I'm like, and at the end at the end of it, whenever I'm asked if I've got anything in the South, I'm always like, Well, brothers, there is plenty of food left. Uh, there is to go home uh take home containers, take everything, because if not, it's getting fed to my chickens.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

You know, we used to have a guy that we would uh take all those leftovers to the homeless people downtown. There you go. Um but I think even that got a little too risky for him. He was like uh at risk or some video thing at some point.

SPEAKER_02 16:29

Actually, that works out because our lodge, I'm not even kidding. I can stand at the at the back door of my lodge, throw a rock and hit Lighthouse Ministries. It's right across the road.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Oh, that's that's a good place to drop it off.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

So I'm thinking, I'm thinking if we have a whole bunch of food left over, like we're gonna have a DDGM visit next year, which by the way, uh your boy is gonna be a committeeman next year um for the DDGM. Yeah. Yeah. So uh and actually uh Sean Cooney and I are gonna be on the same uh uh over the same committee. So he's over PR down in uh Sarasota, I think it's what, District 23. Um so he could that job. I I don't know, but this is like his ah it's like his second or third year doing it. So whenever I called him and I was like, hey man, I'm gonna be over, you know, public relations for uh for my district, he was like, hey, we're doing the same thing. Let's do the podcast together. I was like, all right, say when let's go.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

So uh he's replacing a guy you know who had that for like four years. Really? That's me. I used to have District 23, yeah. Nice. He came behind me and uh I guess he's been holding it down ever since I left.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Yeah, he's I mean, dude, he's doing great. So like they moved a mobile home. Uh and I think it was them and like the Prince Hall uh down there. I I don't remember the the name of the lodge. Um either way, they got together and like they're doing all kinds of stuff down there. I mean, whoever whoever's coming up with these ideas for the 23rd district, y'all guys need to write like a manual and send it out to everybody. You're killing it down there. You're doing great.

Sitting In The East For Degrees

SPEAKER_02 17:58

So uh I I studied and uh back in October. Uh I sat in the East for an EA degree. It was my first time ever sitting in the East. Um so conferred four or five brothers, I think it was. Uh now brothers, then candidates. And then that exact same group of guys needed to be passed a fellowcraft, and I think it was last month. Yeah, last month I conferred their fellowcraft degree, and it's the same batch of guys. So you did a fellowcraft degree too. Yeah, so I've done an EA degree and I did a fellowcraft, and I did those within a couple of months of each other. Um, and I got told whenever we were done with a fellowcraft degree, because we just had fun with the fellowcraft degree.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

I mean, like it wasn't as serious as the EA degree was. For some reason, they're not as well attended as the EA or the Master Mason degrees. I don't know why.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

But they're actually our our our fellowcraft degree, we had a decent amount of people there. We had some heavy hitters in the room. I mean, uh, you're talking right worshipfuls and you know, the guys that we had gold carrying card members everywhere. Um, we actually had a lot of fun. So we had a musician come in, and I've never been in a degree that had a musician before. Oh, it adds a lot to the degree. Well, here's the thing we didn't practice with the musician because he lives a little far away. Yeah. So it threw all of us off. I mean, it was so rough. So, like at one point, um, as as the master, I'm telling the junior deacon to go, you know, talk to the Tyler. Um, and whenever I do that, the the musician starts playing. I'm bringing home a baby Bumblebee as the guy's walking back to the door as the brother.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

So he just chose his own music.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Yeah, he just picked his own music. And so it was everything he played behind blue eyes at one point, uh, by the Who, I believe it is. Um, yeah, he did that whenever the brothers came in, um, whenever they first came into the lodge at the beginning of the degree, he was playing We Will Rock You. I was like, as at some point, uh, there was part of me that was like, This is kind of unprofessional. Like, and then like it started to grow on me a little bit, and I was like, All right, this is fun. Like, we just had fun with a degree.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

For degree, I feel like it's not good to do that kind of stuff to a certain extent because it should they're only gonna get one degree, and it should be like the best put a Freemasonry you put for it. So if there's gonna be music, it should add to the vibes of that degree, right? Which is kind of serious stuff. Uh but I think the music in like the state in meetings adds a whole lot because man, those things can get boring. The music really helps lighten things up a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

You know, I I thought about, you know, because I'm starting to pick the piano back up and you know, trying to figure it back out. Uh, because I used to play whenever I was a kid, and I just, you know, you don't play it for 20, 30 years and you happen to forget about it, you know. So I'm starting to pick that back up, and I'm trying to teach my daughter, you know, how to play piano and everything, and I'm like, you know what? I could I could after I'm you know through running the chairs, uh maybe I'll be in the musician for for Lakeland Lodge. You know, I think that'd be a lot of fun. Well then I went and played the piano and it is so out of tune it hurt. Like I played fur at least and it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. You know, it was so bad.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

So tell me, you did that EA degree. Uh most people I've seen really struggle with when it's your first time with the writing ceremony section of that degree. I had so much fun. Did you have that nailed down? Did you pay special attention to that?

SPEAKER_02 21:14

I I memor I think I spent more time memorizing that than I did anything else because there's so many options right there. Yeah, yeah. Right? So it was so great. And I I I'll tell you offline because it was so dang funny. Because I had like five of these guys that I had to go through. So I'm having to repeat the same thing over and over again. I almost made one dude cry. It was so good. Like, and here's the thing I don't even know if he's still if he's still in the craft. So like I might have gone too hard in the paint. I don't know. But it's like I I I did, you know. So one of the guys told me, pulled me aside, and he was like, hey, you know, because uh the guy who used to run all the degrees at our lodge was Joe Rogers, uh, past masterable. Now he's having to step away uh because his wife isn't doing so well. So he kind of unofficially passed the baton to me, um, you know, to To run the degree. So I've got all the all the paperwork and who's going in what locations, all the people, all the heavy hitters numbers, everything. And so I was told that apparently Joe goes hard in the paint in the second half for the riding ceremony. And they were like, you've got to do it too. And I was like, okay. I'm up there. I'm nervous. Yeah, I'm I'm up there. I'm nervous. You know, it's my again, it's my first time in the East. I'm shaking. Like, you know, so it was it was rough. And then I got to the I got to the riding ceremony and just had a blast.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

I mean by the by that point, you're hours into this stuff and you're pretty loose. But yeah, that those first few words you say your first time and in your first degree is rough. I don't care how confident you are. It's gonna be rough.

SPEAKER_02 22:44

But dude, I I screwed up at the end so bad. So you know, at the at the end of the degree, like if you're a decent, you know, master of a degree, you're going to give the candidates or at that point the brothers. You're gonna give them the opportunity to stand up and say something. It happened at all three of my degrees, every degree I've ever been to. It's been that exact same thing. I completely forgot. I when I say completely forgot, like we're at the end of the degree, and this is just the EA degree, right? And I am over it, I'm done. I just want I just want to be out of here, right? So I completely forgot to let them stand up and say something. I totally forgot to thank the degree team, which I felt horrible for at the end of it, because like they put in a lot of effort in order for a guy who's never done this before, they really helped me out a lot of it. You looked good, yeah. Yeah. And then and then at the end of it, I closed in short form. Boy, yeah, I closed in short form and I was like, I'm gonna get out of here. So then finally, it's since it was the same batch of guys for the fellowcraft degree. I was like, All right, guys, I totally forgot to let y'all talk last time. That's on me, that's my fault. But now you get double the time. So you get to say whatever you want right now. And you know how they all are. You know, they get up, oh thank you very much, and then like they sit back down and that's it, right? Yeah. But um, but no, the the degree was awesome. We had um the I can't remember the lodge, it might be Winter Haven, but I'm probably wrong on that. They've got a they've got like a a whole group of Filipino guys down there. Um so these guys, whenever they showed up for the EA degree, they brought an entire cooked pig, like whole three foot-long pig that they cooked, and then this pastime for the fellowcraft degree, it was the same group of guys. Dude, they loaded us down with so much food, it was insane. Like I had like three plates, and there still was a ridiculous amount of food left over.

How To Practice Without Falling Apart

SPEAKER_00 24:25

So you having just done this, and this kind of still fresh in your mind, what advice would you give to somebody who is for the first time going to be sitting in the East for a degree like that? Like, overstudy, don't over like study and then chill the last day. Like, what what worked for you? What would you advise?

SPEAKER_02 24:42

There's there's there's a lot of things that I learned sitting in the East for two degrees in the last, you know, what, six, eight months, something like that. Um, one, have your practice in the room you're put you're putting the degree on, right? So if you're having it at your lodge, you need to be practicing in your lodge, right? That was huge for me. It was absolutely huge. Start studying now. Um even if it's not scheduled yet, because then, oh man, life's gonna, you know, our cable toes are gonna pull at us, you know, man, we're we're gonna be busy. Oh, that that degree's in like two weeks. Now I've got to cram and try to study an hour, hour and a half, two hours worth of dialogue, you know. Um, so that's another piece I would give. Uh, the other piece of advice that I would give is study everybody's parts in the degree, everyone. And here's the reason why, right? So there's two twofold is the reason why. One is so that way you can do your proficiency give back and start to get your cards. Um, because for brothers, if if you don't know what the card system is, um, we have a series of proficiency cards that we can get here in the craft. So you hear about gold card carrying members, those are guys that have memorized a lot of stuff. Brother Chris Burns happens to be a gold card carrying member. Um, but you can get a silver card for your catechism give back, both questions and answers, white card for your EA, both first and second half, everybody's parts. Green card is your fellow craft, first and second half, everybody's parts. And then Master Mason is first and second half, everybody's parts. So that's your blue card. So um here's what they look like once you get them. Yep. So I I would start doing that now. And then uh last piece of advice is somebody, right honorable Jeremy Leslie out of District 21, uh, did this to me and it helped me out a tremendous amount. You need somebody as a distraction while you're practicing. You've got to have a distraction. And what I mean by that is if for example, whenever I did the EA degree, I was given the obligation, and somebody opened an altoid can and started rummaging around in an altoid can that has like that wax paper in it and everything, and it threw me off so bad I vapor locked. But have somebody there that's a distraction. So whenever you memorize all the parts, let's say your senior warden gives you the wrong line back, you know how to correct it, right? You know where you're at, how to correct it. And so you're you know it so well that's not gonna mess you up. And then secondly, if somebody keeps acting as a distraction towards you, then you know how to mentally keep yourself focused on what it is that you're doing and saying.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

So that's my advice. I I agree with that because a lot of people, I think, when they practice, they're only practicing their lines. And um it can be super helpful for just for the cadence of understanding. Like uh when you're practicing, you're going fast because you don't give the response in your head. You just go on to your next line. But in reality, you're waiting for somebody else to talk after you finish talking, and it takes an L with that cadence and keeping it in your head. Otherwise, you're gonna speed through it without, you know, it always sounds bad when you're rushed. Dude, I I I got in trouble.

SPEAKER_02 27:46

Uh not in trouble. I I got some constructive feedback uh on my degrees. So even whenever we're doing regular lodge, open and closing, I'm not slow at those lines. Uh we've we've got something to get to, we've got something to do. So, and I talk whenever I'm doing lines for lodge or for a degree, I speak very similarly, similarly to how I am now. I'm it's very fast-paced. Um, a a right honorable walked over to me, uh, right honorable Tim, and I love that guy, man. He's you want to talk about another knowledge powerhouse is Tim Ellis. That guy is good. Um, but either way, he goes, Brother Matt, I'm gonna give you some advice. I was like, throw it at me, what you got? He's like, slow down because we can't understand you.

SPEAKER_00 28:29

And I was like, okay, I'm sorry. Well, that's the thing. When you're typically when you're doing the green work, you're a little bit nervous, and you automatically just speed up. And if you're already a fast talker, you're you're now in that X3 on the podcast. Yeah. And it can be difficult for people. You get it, but they don't. Yeah. So you actively have to try to slow it down. And if you think you're slowing it down enough, you're probably not. Yeah. You can probably slow it down more.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

And even still, a after the after the EA degree, uh, I was talking to the the right honorable uh Jeremy, that was my senior deacon. I love working with that guy. He's so great. We're both in construction, so we have similar senses of humor. Um, but either way, um in dealing with him, he was the one who was the distraction. Like he kept being that distraction for me, and I it was absolutely great that he did. But one of the things that he did tell me afterwards um is you know, one, to slow down. Um, and then two, he goes, if you're going to make a mistake, make it confidently.

unknown 29:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

And I was like, what the fuck? You know what? People generally don't know if you made a mistake.

SPEAKER_02 29:36

Yeah. You do it confidently. Oh, oh, and I did in the fellowcraft degree. Oh, I I messed up bad. And he knows this stuff so well, he kept right there with me. So I'm at a point where the senior deacon's in front of me and the guys are in front of me, and I have to ask a series of questions, and I totally missed one of the questions. Like just out the window, gone. Right. And he kept pace with me. And so it's like, and then afterwards, I was like, Dad gummit, I missed that line. And he goes, he looks at me, he's like, Yeah, but I stayed right there with you, didn't I? I'm like, Yes, you did.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

I appreciate that. Thank you. That's the mark of a good ritualist. You gotta go with the flow because it never goes exactly right. And if you don't know your stuff, that will that will you'll malfunction. Um, and so you need to have studied, like Matt said, and have it in your head so you're comfortable enough to adjust if it doesn't go exactly right. And one thing that um I always spent a lot of time on was um the actual obligation. I would uh in my mind say it twice. Because I notice a lot of people they get used to saying it in the cadence in their head, and the people often don't repeat what you're telling them to, and that can throw you off. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:48

Um and so I mean you you have that, but you also have the way that it's ciphered in the books, in any of the books, the floor workbook, the red book word red book, any of them, the way that it's ciphered, that's too much for a candidate to retain in that moment and to say back to you. So I ended up having to split them into halves. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

And so it's like I'm not saying that's like it's gonna be different every time depending on who your people are. Some guys can do it, and then you get some guys that don't speak English great or whatever the case is, and you got to go word for word almost.

SPEAKER_02 31:19

That's exactly what I was gonna bring up, is the guys that we had there for the for the EA and the fellowcraft today, they're from the Philippines, right? So English is their second language. So, you know, as these guys are are trying to say it back to you, like you've got to keep it short, you know, maybe three words, four words at a time, but not like how the book is where it's got like six, seven, eight words at a time.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

That's a little much. It works later, like in a master mason degree where these guys are familiar with it and they already know a lot of it. Like you can do that, but in an enter apprentice degree, not so much. No.

SPEAKER_02 31:51

No. It it was gosh, it was so funny. That fellowcraft degree was fun. I mean, we we just we just had a good time with that one. So um like at one point, I really don't want to get in trouble whenever I say this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. At one point, like it was so um, like we we they were fellowcrafts at the end of the day, right? You know, so I don't want anybody to think that we were just goofing off throughout this entire degree. No, we were serious for a portion of it. Uh, but then at one point, like the the the guys are out in the in the ante-room at this point, and so senior deacon has to walk somewhere and he starts playing a song. I can't even remember what song he started to play, but either way, the senior deacon just started to like dance, you know, as as he's walking. He's like doing like this little like jive move as he's like walking back to where he needs to walk. I'm like, this is great. Like in my mind, like this is what a degree, especially a fellowcraft degree, because it's not as serious as the Master Mason, it's not as solemn and serious as the entered apprentice degree. This is the fellowcraft degree. It's a little fun. You know, you can have a little fun with that, and it doesn't have to be everybody's all uptight and everything. Um, I've seen uptight degrees, and you know, they're they're interesting to watch, you know, they're fine. I don't have any problems with them, but I've also seen one where it's like we're all we're all brothers here. Like we're all we're all joking and having fun.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

Yeah, as long as like the candidates getting a good degree, you know?

SPEAKER_02 33:06

Yeah. Which which they did. I mean, none of those guys saw any of the goofy stuff that we were doing. Yeah, they didn't see it, they didn't hear it. It was just us, you know, that that saw it. So, and it was gosh, it was so fun.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Not even Oh, that's uh that's a good part of masonry, I think doing those degrees is very fulfilling, plus you learn a lot by doing that. The words are just the words, right? But you have to figure out the emotion behind the words to make it like authentic, I guess. Otherwise, you'd just sound like you're reading a book and none of it's gonna stick or really have an effect on somebody. But people feel emotions, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:45

And even and even still, it's to make it memorable. I mean, you know, obviously I've heard Master Mason say this ever since I was an inner apprentice, is that the Master Mason degree is for other Master Masons. It's not for the guys who are in the who are who are taking the degree. Like, no, it's for the rest of us, right? Which there's some truth to that. You know, we'd like to have a little bit of fun with it. Um but yeah, I know Paul punched it up and then I punched it up. I didn't know what uh what an internment was until I sat in the West for that degree. You know, so um, you know, there's we talk about having having to bury somebody, and I had absolutely no idea. I'm like, what is that word? Or like it means to bury someone, and I was like, wait, really? Like, okay. You learn a lot, especially once you start studying the lectures. There's a lot of words in there. You're like, what?

SPEAKER_00 34:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

Oh, and that and that's another thing is right now, um, the senior warden at my lodge, Neff, and Neff's easily becoming one of my best friends in Masonry. I mean, easily becoming one of my best friends. He he's there with me all the time. He's helping me out a bunch. He's great. Um, Neff is memorizing the closing charge. Uh and I'm I'm gonna be memorizing the opening charge. So once we get to a point where we're both comfortable with it, we're going, we're now going to do opening and closing charges in every lodge meeting that we have. That's great. So those things are really good for the brothers to hear. Here's the thing. I've never heard the opening charge, not once. And then at my fellowcraft degree, most worshipful coward, then right worshipful coward. Um, yeah, because he hadn't he wasn't in the Grand East at that time. So he actually came to my fellowcraft degree and he gave the closing charge at the fellowcraft degree, which uh, you know, it was so weird because like as we're standing there, like closer towards the end, he's over sitting on the side on the north side of the lodge, and he's like this, and he's sitting there buttering, he's like mumbling something to himself. And I'm like, I I literally asked somebody, I'm like, was this guy like summoning a spell? Like, what is he doing over there? And they were like, No, he was he was doing the closing charge like in his head just to make sure that he had it right. And I was like, That wasn't in his head, that was audible. Like, I heard it.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

So I mean, you know, that's part of the ritual work, is like you want to get it right, and so you're kind of it's like a last-minute thing, you're going over it in your head. So I you do lectures and I would show up at a lodge I'm not familiar with with people I don't know, and I'd sit through an entire degree, which is very distracting, and then you have like a break, and now you're sitting there having conversations, telling jokes. It's not you're not as focused as you need to be. So this is why you need to be prepared before.

SPEAKER_02 36:11

Yeah, the the the other advice, and this is just some general advice. If you're gonna have a morning degree, um, you know, and and not like morning is in like sad, but like in the a.m. morning degree, because all of ours are in the mornings. Um you need coffee and donuts. Here's the thing don't hit the caffeine before you sit in the East for a degree, whatever you do. Like, do not do caffeine because like I I did caffeine that morning, and like I've been trying to back off of caffeine, and I was just kind of tired that morning. So I was like, Oh, I'll grab a Celsius and energy drink. I'll just you know take a couple swigs of that. Nope, bad idea.

SPEAKER_00 36:42

You know that's also a bad idea. Drinking on a Friday night when you have a Saturday morning degree to do, and it's also a very bad idea.

SPEAKER_02 36:50

If you drink to access on a Friday night, your brain doesn't work the next morning. It just doesn't. Things you should know have gone somewhere else and they disappear. Yep, yep, and that's it. You know, so luckily I I knew that about myself. So it's like we didn't we didn't have any parties on those Friday nights. You know, smart, smart. We didn't do any of that. I was like, no, like because if I get a little too far into a, you know, into some whiskey or some scotch, like I'm gonna forget this entire

Recruiting Petitioners Through Social Media

SPEAKER_02 37:16

degree.

SPEAKER_00 37:16

So what's coming up for you this year? What else has yet to happen?

SPEAKER_02 37:20

Well, we've got uh two potential petitioners at our lodge. Um, and what my goal is for these two guys is something that we haven't done in years at Lakeland Lodge. Um, so what I want to do is, and matter of fact, tomorrow night is gonna be our practice nights. It's our it's third Monday, uh, every third Monday. Um, we're gonna do a round table reading of the entered apprentice degree. So we're just all gonna sit down and I'm gonna open my book. All those guys are gonna open their books and we're just gonna read the degree. And so that way, all right, now you guys can go home and start studying that, right? Because now you know. And if you have any questions, call me. So, what my goal is for these two guys that are coming in, because we're realistically about 45 to 60 days away from holding another degree for these guys or holding the EA degree. Um, one of them's a D Mole kid, actually, uh, which I thought was really cool. And he's actually from the Orlando area. So he's coming all the way out to Lakeland. And I asked him, I was like, buddy, I'm like, you pass like four lodges before you ever get to ours. Like, why is it you're coming to our lodge? And he goes, because I looked you guys up on social media and you're actually active. So this guy's traveling like 45 minutes out of his way, passing three different lodges, three or four different lodges, to come to our lodge because we're active and he likes that.

SPEAKER_00 38:31

It's interesting. So this is a younger guy who's using social media to determine where he wants to experience Freemasonry. I told no, you might want to have your activities on social media.

SPEAKER_02 38:43

Yeah. So yeah, we're uh we're we're changing a couple of things. I want to be able to hold these guys, these two guys' degree on a random regular lodge night. So I don't want us all to have to get together on Saturday and you kill your Saturday whenever you do these, right? So nope, we're all good, we're all ready, we can do it. I can do any role in the EA degree. So I told them I said, hey, whatever y'all feel comfortable with, I'll just I'll fill in wherever I'm needed. Um you've put together two degree teams so far, right? I have put uh well, actually three. Uh because I put one together at Turkey Creek and that one didn't didn't go well.

SPEAKER_00 39:17

Did you were you lucky enough to have volunteers filled all of the rosters, or did you have to go searching?

SPEAKER_02 39:23

I I had for the EA degree, I I really had to search for the EA degree. Yeah, I had by the time this degree rolled around, the fellowcraft degree rolled around, I had everything filled, plus I had three backups just in case. You were prepared. Yeah, and sure enough, I needed it because my junior deacon called out morning of. Always, yeah. You always have all outs.

SPEAKER_00 39:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:45

Which good.

SPEAKER_00 39:47

A lot of people aren't aware, at least in most of the lodges in District 23, do it this way. Whoever's the master of the degree is also responsible for the food at the degree. Does that agree to?

SPEAKER_02 40:00

So we we haven't done that. Um, it's not that I'm opposed to doing it. So I offered to bring, you know, donuts for breakfast. Um, because we've got the best donuts in the world right here in Plant City, whole in one donuts. Uh, and I will not apologize for that. People are like, Duncan's better, Krispy Kreme's better. No, you're all wrong. It's whole in one donuts. Um, but either way, uh I offered, he said, no, don't worry about it. We're bringing biscuits and gravy. Okay, cool. So what we have coming up uh on the horizon is I'm now officially our lodge

Trials Protocol And Due Process

SPEAKER_02 40:29

instructor. Um, you know, since some of the brothers have had to take a step back to take care of family and their cable toes are pulled tight. So I'm our lodge instructor. Lodge instruction nights are fun, they're enjoyable. Um, you know, here after Grand Lodge, I'm gonna be a district committeeman for public relations. Yeah, uh last year, 2025, our worshipful master got pulled um by the previous administrations. Uh again, to most worsful tallies credit. By the way, it's uh master back in the fraternity. Let me cover that because that's that's a deep topic right there. Um but uh short story is it's it's like iffy, it's like touch and go right now. But um to most worthful tallies' credit, like I think everybody in the state of Florida, I heard this recently, everybody in the state of Florida who had charges filed against them last year or were under some sort of penalty, it's now all gone away except for one guy. And that's because he doesn't want to. So I know yours were resolved, Ryan's were resolved. Um, you know, a lot of people, all their stuff got resolved, and that was strictly because I think it's um who's the right worst full of ever penal affairs? The Jerry Miller? Mm-hmm. Yeah. So between Jerry Miller, Tally, and Jeff Foster, like they got this cleaned up fast, which I thought was great.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

Very good. I mean, you need it to happen.

SPEAKER_02 41:42

So the the brother that um I'm not gonna give away names right now because this is a current ongoing situation. We had a brother at our lodge that caused some trouble. Um, and so that led to Ryan getting removed from the East, forcibly removed from the East, and charges filed against him. After that all got resolved, you know, there still was wrongdoing that had been done. And so it was like it was like last call of, hey, are you sure you don't want to clean this up? Are you positive? And the guy's like, no, I was right in what I did. So we were like, okay, there it is. So Ryan has now filed charges against that individual brother for unmasonic con. And he, and to be fair, he did violate the digest, you know. So in the digest, there's the result. Yeah. So in the digest, there is a a part in the digest, and this is good knowledge for anybody to have, that if there are any sort of irregularities or anything that you have of concern or something that needs to be brought up uh before the lodge, you're supposed to go to the worshipful master first. That's going to be your first point of contact. That's before you you approach anybody from Grand Lodge, any DDGMs, anybody. You were supposed to go to the worshipful master first. Well, this guy just totally bypassed the worshipful master, went all the way around him, and then started getting the gold collars involved. Um didn't even go to the district. Yeah. So it it it got sticky uh there for a minute. And so um the guy was to my knowledge, because I've been out of it for a little while, I'm like, hey, this is y'all's problem, it's not a me problem, but from what I'm hearing, uh the brother was unrepentant of what he did, uh, thought he was still in the right. So it's like, okay, then we're gonna we're gonna take this thing to trial and see what happens. So that's happening now? It's in progress still? We're in the middle of it right now. So the all the proper protocol was filed or followed, I should say. Um, and so then the accused has the option to have the trial at that lodge or have a Grand Lodge committee trial. And so he responded back and said, I want a Grand Lodge committee trial. And that's been probably a month, two months ago, and we haven't heard anything. So justice move slowly. Yeah, and and honestly, I've I've called a couple of people and asked around. There's a strong chance we're not gonna hear any response about this before Grand Lodge. You know, so right now that's all they're focused on up in Jacksonville is Grand Lodge coming up, preparing for it. All the you know wheels that need to be greased on that one.

SPEAKER_01 44:03

Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 44:04

And this will be your like third, second Grand Lodge? This is only your second, right? This this will be my second Grand Lodge that I'm attending. The third I could have gone. That's that's kind of where everything is. Like I said, just studying for degrees and trying to sew peace and harmony and all that kind of fun stuff. And man, it has been a flipping uphill battle because the personality types, oh my gosh. You get them all. Yeah, every single personality type. You do. And and even still, I mean I here's the thing. I I I said at on our last episode that um I wanted to take time and fall in love with the craft. Well, I'm finally at that point where it's like a lot of the contention that I saw in my early days of masonry, all that's gone. It's it's resolved. Beautiful. And so now I'm working with other lodges, I'm working with other, you know, masters of different lodges. I'm saying, hey, if you got a degree coming up, call me. Like, you know, I can fill a role in a degree. So I'm trying to put myself out there as much as I can to help the brothers, to help the district, especially to help some of these younger master masons. Like we've got, like I said, we've got like three or four masters over there that are millennials. And it's like these dudes need all the help they can get because they didn't sit in a lodge for 40 years next to Joe Bob. You know, they don't know that Joe Bob is really good at ritual. So I'm trying to establish that network, I guess, um, you know, of people that I know and who can do what and where I can get advice from and help from and that sort of stuff.

Bringing The Podcast Back With Guests

SPEAKER_02 45:25

So are are we back? Is on the level podcast back? Are we well that that is entirely up to you, good sir? I can tell you this that um I have caught wind, uh, little birdie told me. Um and by a little birdie, I mean somebody who's he would know um that the entire grand line next year wants to do as many podcasts as possible. They they want to be on R's, they want to be on Winding Stairs, they want to be, they want as much exposure as humanly possible to promote unity in the craft. And that is something that as soon as I heard it, I jumped up and down. So um, yeah, we have an open door right now with um Haskell Vesque. Uh is it Vest or Vesk with a K? I think it's Vest. I I think it is too. I I was I I keep messing that up. But um he wants to be on, and obviously, right worstful, you it at least for me, you are absolutely more than welcome. Um, you know, we've got uh Right Worstful Rick Windling, uh the senior grand warden right now, he wants to be on. Um I would love to do a recap episode with most worstful tally and just be like, hey, tell us how your year went. You know, what what do you think? What were the good things? What were the bad things? How can the craft improve? How can we improve as the craft? Um, I I would love to do stuff like that. So, I mean, we've got probably I'd say between five and ten speakers or or guests that we could have on the show that are some heavy hitters if if we wanted it.

SPEAKER_00 46:48

I think we do want it. I mean, we definitely want to ask the questions on behalf of the brothers that uh and give them the opportunity to speak to the craft. Uh it's so controlled. Um, they they do visits, but you have to be in the lodge that night, and they typically give a short speech. It's not necessarily a question and answer session. So uh I think this is a good format for all of the grand or people running for grand line to come on and get asked the same questions by the brothers and answer them. Yeah, so uh the I I that I actually I wholeheartedly agree with.

SPEAKER_02 47:25

We also had this year, and this is this is kind of a weird thing. Um, we were doing pretty good last year as far as attendance is concerned, but whenever all that stuff happened with with Ryan and him getting pulled from the East, man, our our attendance took a hit. Um, you know, and as junior warden, this is something that's kind of frustrating. You and I were talking about it a little bit before the episode, but as junior warden, it's frustrating. I don't know if I'm cooking for 15 people or 50 people. I have no clue. Um, which, in the same breath, I'm super excited for our next year, um, next Masonic year DDGM visit because I've already told them what I'm doing. Like I sent out email reminders and everything. I went ahead and put the menu in there, dude. We're doing smoked picana. Like we're not doing like, you know, pizza or you know, like ordering catering, you know, Cuban sandwiches or something like that. No, you're getting smoked picana, mashed potatoes, cornbread, like you're getting a good old Southern boy meal, right? But our DGGM next year is a good old Southern boy, so he'll appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 48:20

Well, you hopefully you'll be talking about the the Grand Launch reimbursement program. Um, and if any brother wants to talk more about the Grand Launch reimbursement program, it's being edited up by worshipful Timothy French. He's your guy.

SPEAKER_02 48:36

I need to write that name down. I'll connect you.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

You'll have his name in this email. We can we can actually have him on the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 48:42

That would be awesome because I really need to speak with that guy. So I I want to do here, probably starting in about July, August time frame, somewhere around there, June, July, August. I want to start doing the Grand Lodge reimbursement program. Anytime we have like a practice or a lodge officers meeting, it's 100% attendance and then some. You know, there's additional people showing up. For our line this year, I think it was late last year. We were panicking because we didn't have any stewards uh or a junior deacon. No, sorry. We we had a junior deacon, but we didn't have stewards. Um so we're all kind of freaking out, and we were short a senior deacon. Um, and that was a whole another scenario. Uh, but either way, man, if you're full up and now we're at a point where it's like our junior steward chair opened up and we had three guys who wanted it. Nice. So it's like, this is fantastic. I mean, I absolutely love this.

SPEAKER_00 49:30

Battle to the death to decide who gets the chair, right?

SPEAKER_02 49:32

Yeah, break a pool cue in half. We're gonna have tryouts.

SPEAKER_01 49:36

Aggressive negotiations.

SPEAKER_02 49:38

I'm glad you got my reference.

SPEAKER_00 49:41

It's uh well, one of the maybe the Dark Knight, I think. Yeah, heath Heath Ledger's Joker. He did a great job on that. No one will ever come close to his joker.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

No, no. I think the only one who could, and I'm gonna get nerdy on you here for a second. The only one who could, if he would ever play a live-action joker, is a guy named Troy Baker. He's a voice actor. Are you familiar with him? No. If you've watched any anime or anything like that, you've heard this guy's voice. But either way, in the um in the Arkham games, uh, Batman games, he voiced the Joker. No, I'm sorry, I take that back. Mark Hamill voiced the Joker. Well, he does an impression of Mark Hamill that is spot on. So, and he's he's tall, he's slender, he's got the narrow face, he's got all of it. I want that guy to play a live action joker so bad.

SPEAKER_00 50:28

It's gonna be tougher than the cats that all after Kyle Fletcher. Really tough, but I hope they do. And I hope it's not a throwback to the Jack Nicholson kind of like goofy joker. I want a serious, scary joker, psychotic.

SPEAKER_02 50:42

Him and uh was it Caesar Caesar Romero or something like that was the Alan West Joker. It's a 60s with the stupid mustache that he had, like the makeup was caked on it. Like, come on, man. I'm sorry if you're a brother, but do better.

SPEAKER_00 50:55

And I grew up with a Jack Nicholson Batman, and I still wasn't super happy about that. I liked uh surprisingly, I did like the Batman himself. Uh Michael Keaton? Michael Keaton, yeah. Yep. Weird choice for a Batman back then. Weird, really weird choice. Um not a scary guy.

SPEAKER_02 51:15

Worst Batman of all time. It's a toss-up between me uh for me, for Val Kilmer or George Clooney. Those are the worst ones, man.

SPEAKER_00 51:24

I think it was bad movies, and so it gave us a bad impression of them. But they're both they were both great actors, so it's hard to believe that they couldn't with a better director and a better script.

SPEAKER_02 51:35

Yeah, and and and you knew it was super cheesy whenever Arnold Schwarzenegger was like, everybody, chill, and like, shut up. I hate everything you are, man.

SPEAKER_00 51:44

Like speaking like Batman uh on ice, it was like more of like an epic scene thing than it was actually the movie with the plot and characters.

SPEAKER_02 51:55

Yeah, but no, back to Masonry. Um, Chris, I mean, I'm I'm I'm all about doing some more podcasts. I think I did a couple of them. I just didn't know how to edit them. Um, you know, so I we have some episodes recorded that you do have some unreleased stuff. We should go back and start releasing. We do. We we got some unreleased stuff um that I just I don't know how to edit for anything. I tried.

SPEAKER_00 52:16

Uh I took a hiatus from the fraternity. I took a good year off. Um, I needed it after my experience in the fraternity, and I told Brother Stone, continue. It's yours podcast. Um, so do what you want with it.

SPEAKER_02 52:31

And uh Yeah, so so yeah, so uh if you would like, um I can start making some calls or or you can start making some calls and we can get some heavy hitters on the show. We should both do that and starting up some we'll be the Joe Brogan on Freemasonry. Let's just have all the important people out. Let's do it. Exactly. But no, it's um it it's been a it's been a interesting year, um, at least on my side of it. I I think you and I, after last year, I think you and I both needed a break. Um It was rough, man.

SPEAKER_00 52:56

That was really really drainy to to f I mean I was fighting for my Masonic life for I mean I had to celebrate my birthday at that trial. Like that it's how much it took up on my life. I couldn't even celebrate a day for me. Um it was tough, man. Really tough to see the darkest side of the fraternity. It was really bad. Not only that, the thing is like a lot of people don't know what's going on. And so you can almost look like the villain to a lot of people that don't know what's going on. So you're fighting four people that look at you as the bad guy.

SPEAKER_02 53:33

Oh, and and you and I had that. We we absolutely had that. And I I told you about the Grand Lodge last year that there was a past grandmaster that uh I went up to shake his hand and he refused to shake my hand, and I was like, okay. Like, and I'd never met the guy before. Never met him. And I was just like, okay, so this is where we're at. And so and then uh you you kind of put people that you know from any organization, whether it be like church or the gym or masonry or whatever. But no, uh, you took a step back, I took a step back. I mean, we we both were I would say that we were trying to fight for the craft or for the soul of the craft. Yeah. We were trying to fight for the soul of the craft, and it was just like, man, alive, it was tiring. And so now we get to this year, and this year it's like, all right, things are looking up, things are going a lot better, peace and harmony is being restored, which I am a huge fan of. Um, and not only that, but it's like I've gotten into a pattern with my lodge as lodge instructor and as um uh as junior warden. I've gotten into a pattern to where it's like, all right, it's a little bit easier to manage now. I still have a wife and four-year-old at home. Um, I do enjoy being a dad and a husband in a business owner. Yeah, uh two businesses. Uh so I manage the family AC business and then I own a general contracting business, which that's just a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 54:50

That's why you have the gray hair. You're actually 25 and he's got a full-on gray beard.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

I mean, it's a lot of stress. You know, uh a buddy of mine got me. He's a uh a vet, and he got me and he was like, you know what? I like everything about your beard except for the black Fu Manchu that you have. I was like, how dare you? I like it. Yeah. So, and even so I started growing it out. My wife wants me to shave it off, and I told her there is not a chance. The beard stays.

SPEAKER_00 55:13

Well, Brother Stone, before we go, okay.

Living Like A Mason In Public

SPEAKER_00 55:16

I wanted to bring this up because we have a a good friend of our not just the podcast, but also the fraternity, really. Uh, an advocate for the fraternity, somebody that lives uh like a Mason. And he has a Facebook page called Passmaster's Thoughts. His name is Dwayne Marshall, and I came across the fact that he wrote his own book. Nice. So you can go on Amazon right now and reach Pleasing All the People, a collection of a Passmaster's Thoughts by uh worshipful brother Dwayne A. Marshall. And uh, I mean I've been a follower of his for a long time, so I can tell you that you're gonna get value out of this if you if you do get this. I would get it just to have it in your lodge for brothers that maybe haven't become a master yet. Uh because there's a lot of wisdom in here about the fraternity. And uh we're not getting paid for this. He's not a sponsor of the show, but we uh I I think he's just a great brother, and I'm happy to see that he's got a book out because it's all positive stuff.

SPEAKER_02 56:16

Yeah, yeah, and and honestly, I I've enjoyed watching his social media pages because he gets people on there that agree with him and don't agree with him, and he handles them so well. Yes, yeah, it's incredibly well.

SPEAKER_00 56:27

Like a Mason. Yeah. I mean, I've always said that when we sit and lodge, people behave like they don't say things that maybe they think out loud. And if they do respond, it's a lot more measured response. And that's training wheels for life. I mean, it's Freemasonry trying to teach you how to be a man. So if you think Masonry just exists during the hour of stage meeting behind the closed doors of a man master mason lodge, uh you're wrong. It's actually how you conduct yourself and comport yourself every day of your life to everybody you deal with. So it's really important for us as Masons to start trying to take those training wheels off over time and uh put put our money where our mouth is as Masons and actually try to live life as Masons. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 57:15

And especially if you if you wear one of these out, the the Master Mason ring, if you wear one of those out, or if you've got a sticker on the back of your car or you got a Masonic license plate, you've got to conduct, you shouldn't. I'm not gonna say that you shouldn't be cutting off people in traffic, because I still do it too. But you've got to conduct yourself in a different way. I mean, and and here's the thing there's stuff going around the state right now, and uh it's on the transparency

Conspiracies Politics And Public Perception

SPEAKER_02 57:37

page. Um, there's stuff going around in the state right now where master masons are not acting as Masons should. It's straight up violations of the obligations if the ab if the allegations are true. Um, and so at that point, that word is going to get out into the public at some point, right? Masons already have a bad rap as is. We're already being accused of like eating babies and devil worshipers and we keep goats in the back room. You know, we've we've got all this stuff that's being said about us, especially by some heavy hitter podcasts recently, Candace Owens and Sean Ryan. You know, them two have, I don't know if you watch either one of their shows. I definitely watched have watched Sean Ryan. So Sean Ryan had a couple of Catholic priests on. Um, I I don't I don't know what their positions are, but you know, they just oh, it's Freemasonry this and Freemasonry that. And like all the stuff they were saying was just garbage, which is easily refuted. Um and then of course you have Candace Owens. That here's the thing. I've been watching Candace Owens a long time, and the fact she's going down this path that she's going right now, it's like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I can't pull away from it. I mean, I'm I'm not like taking what she's saying as seriously, I'm taking it as entertainment, right? As I'm watching all of this happen. Well, either way, every episode, Freemason's this, Freemason's that. You know, Cash Patel came out after Charlie Kirk was shot and said, after 33 hours, oh, imagine that there's another 33 involved. Oh, there's a beehive in this picture right here, and it's like, oh my gosh, enough. Conspiracy theorists are going wild. Well, I love it. I I love it because it's it it would I I should say it would it would not be as scary if she didn't have as big of a following as she does. And she's got a big following. Well, she's a very conservative podcaster, and she, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:18

The conservative crowd historically has been the one that are more into conspiracy theories, so it's it's fertile ground for you know, and conspiracy theories are that, right? It's like not proven, but it's it's just uh we think this is going on seven degrees of separation of connecting the facts. I and what's awesome to me is how thing the barriers are kind of crumbling between this side or that side, or conservative podcaster or liberal podcaster. Like their conspiracies are starting to align, which is amazing to me.

SPEAKER_02 59:58

Well, it's not only that, but also some of the viewpoints are starting to align. I mean, right now you've got I think it's Anna Kasperian uh from the Young Turks, like she's starting to spout off some America First, you know, policy stuff, and I'm just like, I never thought I would see a day where I would agree with Anna Kasparian, but she's actually I'm agreeing with her.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:16

Well, there was so much misunderstanding. Um, and that's then that's what you know people of power want is to miss you know, it's a shell game, right? They want you looking over here when the ball's over there. Yeah. We've generally as a as a as a species, humans have fallen for it in the past. But it does, it is encouraging me a little bit that people seem to be wise enough. More and more people are starting to wise up to like, wait a second. Should I really support anybody in politics as aggressively as I have in the past? Like, should is it really are they worth it? Do I even know what they're all about? Like, yeah, those are legitimate questions, no matter what side of the aisle you're on.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:54

I I can I can tell you this, and I think you and I have talked, we talked about this on a couple of episodes, is I'm not going to alienate a friend, a person I know, over somebody in DC that I will never meet, and they'll never know my name, unless like you know, I'm getting audited by the IRS or something. So it's like I I have no use for it. And even still, like if you look at what's going on in DC right now, that this was so funny. I think it was it Lauren Bobard or something like that. She came out a couple of days ago and she's like, I don't understand why everybody in DC is so horny. Like, you know, that's all they are. They're just getting wrapped up in like you know, sex things. This is a woman that was caught on camera giving a hand job to a guy that kids like. I lost it whenever she said that. I was like, you dummy, like you're part of it. That's politicians, though.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:39

They will they'll they'll they'll spit fire while they're actually doing it at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:44

I'm at a point, and I know you and I were texting about this, you know, a couple nights ago, where I'm at a point where it's like all of them need to go. Like all of them need to be flushed out. You need to get every single career politician out of DC, out of Tallahassee, out of wherever, you know, your state politics, everything. Just flush them all out, get all new people in and see what happens. Because as far as I'm concerned, I don't care if you've got a D or an R next to your name. If you're in DC, you're all the same thing. It's in my mind, it's a uniparty, and that's all they care about.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:13

And he's still that's something that is encouraging, is that people have this view, and it really aligns our vision together is that like we all have the same problems. Like you might think a different way I do about that issue or this issue, but at the end of the day, like we really literally have all the same problems, and we only have each other to take care of us because those people aren't for us.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:36

No anybody else. And even still, I was at Rotary uh a couple of weeks back, and uh one of the I think it was the local tax collector, um, which I gotta give the guy credit, the local tax collector over in Polk County. The guy is a very gifted speaker. He's funny, he's engaging. I mean, he's he's not what you'd expect from a tax collector. Not at all. Are you kidding me? Uh, but yeah, so either way, he comes in, and the only thing he's talking about is he's talking about like the whole property tax uh thing that Florida's voting on right now. Um, because uh the administration in Florida, uh Ronda Sandis, I think he's trying to completely do away with property taxes on primary homes, not on secondary homes, but on primary homes, which I'm on board with. Um, but either way, this guy came in, this tax collector comes in, and he's the only thing he's doing is he's selling the necessity for taxes to justify his job in government. And it's like, why are all of us having to pay as much taxes as we are? And I know we just went through tax season. Like, I get feral whenever we talk about taxes. I hate it so much. And it's like, why are we paying these people? Yeah, it's like why are we why are we paying these idiots and none of them are doing what any of us want to do? Right, right, left, center, it doesn't matter. They're not doing the things that you want them to do. There's still no names from the Epstein files, and that pisses me off. Like, honestly, everybody, everybody in the files who is guilty of whatever they're guilty of, the harshest of punishment should come upon them.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:59

Right. Yeah, and nothing has happened. And so it will eventually, someday. Someday it will. And then I'm not holding my breath. Uh, but you know, I'll tell you this. I have been looking around at different places because I've been thinking of moving again. And there's a direct correlation between the property taxes people pay and the school systems in that area. Like every single time I see high property taxes, you have high-rated schools. And then I I I get really interested in the low property taxes, right? Because I'm like, oh I'm down for that. The schools are like horrible. Everywhere I go throughout the and I've been looking everywhere from California to Massachusetts and Vermont. Uh it's weren't you looking at like Saskatchewan or something like that for a while? I wanted to leave the country. I was so disappointed in the way things were going out, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:51

Yeah, because I because I I think I I I either had text you or I was going to text you and say, hey bro, I just want to inform you of how damn cold it is up there. Like because I've been. I'm from Buffalo. So like to me, I'm like, I love that kind of weather. Dude, we we went up to um I think it was Nova Scotia. Uh we did a fall colors tour uh cruise, you know, with my mom and my younger brother and I. And we were so cold. We went out to some lighthouse and all we had was like a windbreaker, right? That's all we had.

Closing Thoughts Peace And Brotherly Love

SPEAKER_00 1:05:20

Oh well, it was fun, man. This has been great catching up with you, hearing all the things you've done, and I'm kind of excited about the people we're gonna get to talk to and things we're gonna talk about.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:31

Yeah, and look, we we need to get you at an we need to get you more involved up in South Carolina because I want to hear the drama they have going on. There is no drama like Masonic drama.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:41

That's so true. It's uh on another level. Hey, there we go. Well, uh, until next time, Brother Stone, anything else you want to hear, Kraft? Nope. Uh may peace and brotherly love prevail.