The Foundation

The first step to my decision to petition was crossed after my introduction to Ross. After the meeting I did a lot of exhaustive research on Freemasonry and satisfied every curiosity I had regarding the nature and history of the fraternity, the only places I never looked into was anything about the ritual. The last comment Ross made to me in our first meet was that I should stay away from reading about the secrets in the ritual because the ritual is what makes Masonry so mystical and if I ever did choose to petition I would get far more from it, than if I did not know what was going to happen after I entered the west gate. I did all this exhaustive research because I wanted to offer myself free of just petitioning out of curiosity. I continued to have coffee with Ross at my wife's work when he would be in at the same time as me. He never pressured me to petition, and our conversation only ever led to the topic of Freemasonry when I would bring it up. Over the course of about a year our friendship grew over these coffee's and talks, but again as life often does a detour was just ahead on my road.

My wife was on the brink of convocation from her funeral service/embalming classes and was offered a practicum position in a town about an hour from the city. Job prospects for her were sparse in the city so we chose to make the move out of town. The availability for Jobs for me also was sparse so I ended up taking a job as a tow truck operator.

At this time in my life I was not a very strong person and as such was easily taken advantage of by my employer. As such I was on call all the time nearly 24/7 and so any thoughts I had about belonging to anything quickly faded from my mind. As nearly a whole year had gone by I had almost all but forgotten about Freemasonry when the phone rang...

The phone call came from Ross! He had been passing though on a transfer and just wanted to check in on my wife and I and perhaps do lunch!

That lunch ran much later than either of us three imagined. By the end of our visit the decision to petition was solidified in my mind.

I am going to end my story here for tonight, but I want to leave you all with something to reflect on... In life, we may come to know someone, it may not be for long, or for any profound reason, but simply for who they are, and how they are, as a person, that has such a profound impact on us that it alters the way we think of ourselves and the way we live our lives. Who is that person to you?