Don't Stand By My Grave

I attended a Masonic funeral service this week and the following poem was given. I have read it several times since and I have come to enjoy...thought I would share.

Don't stand by my grave
Don't stand by my grave and weep,
For I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond's glint in the snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
In the soft blush of the morning light
I am the swift bird in flight.
Don't stand by my grave and cry,
I am not there,
I did not die.
Mary Frye

Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center

The other "Masonic" place I visited last week in Milwaukee was the Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center in downtown Milwaukee. A real gem! The artwork and stained glass windows were just awesome. Apparently classes over the years, would donate a piece of original artwork as their gift to the Scottish Rite Temple. The building has a 350 seat auditorium and a pipe organ (not as big as ours though in Des Moines).

The woodwork in the building is awesome. It reminds you of old England...dark and heavy. The building had a 200 seat chapel with pews and an alter (it looks just like a church). There were two libary rooms (a 12,000 volume library) though it did appear to have need for some catalouging help (Jay and Kurt do you hire out?).

All of the closets where the costumes were hung were solid oak with brass hinges and locks on them. There was one case that housed all of the helmets used in the degrees (you could see them through the glass in the doors). They had two make up rooms with 4 sinks each...I have never seen the Des Moines guys use make up. We must have "natural beauty"!

Anyhow, it was a fun hour visiting with a great brother and a great Temple.

Tripoli Shrine

As I mentioned earlier, I had the pleasure this week of making a quick visit to Tripoli Shrine in Milwaukee. What an awesome place. The architecture and craftsmanship are awesome. Besides the Arabic motif, a good portion of the murals taht you see in these pictures are made of small ceramic tiles (each about the size of my thumbnail).

The nobles at Tripoli had their Shrine Circus this weekend. Hope it all went well for them.

Good Bye to an Icon

America lost another icon yesterday...our good friend Paul Harvey left us. I always enjoyed hearing him on the radio. He just seemed like a good friend and neighbor that was sitting across from us at the kitchen table having a good visit with each of us.

Paul Harvey was a true bit of Americana. President G.W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. That was a well deserved honor for this American patriot.

I wondered if Mr. Harvey had any Masonic connections. The only thing that I could find about him regarding that was that he had been initiated into Delta Chapter of DeMolay in Tulsa Oklahoma in 1936 and was inducted into the DeMolay Hall of Fame in 1993. Irregardless of rather or not he was a Masonic brother, he did live his life according to our tenents. Rest well my friend. We will miss you.


Here are a few Paul Harvey quotes:

“Every pessimist who ever lived has been buried in an unmarked grave. Tomorrow has always been better than today, and it always will be.”

“Retiring is just practicing up to be dead. That doesn't take any practice.”

“Golf is a game in which you yell "Fore!", shoot six, and write down five”

“In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.”