A momentous memory
By Bro Bill Anderson
A proper answer What follows is a humorous story about my examination in the Second Degree.
I
had been practicing with a Chief Petty Officer in my office (he was the lodge treasurer) prior to the meeting where I would be called to answer the questions. That night, we were surprised by an unannounced visit by the Grand Master and his team. As I was called to the altar to answer the questions, fully expecting the WM to ask them, suddenly the GM stands up and says ‘WM, if it’s OK with you I’d like to put the questions to the brother.’ My knees almost buckled. I was going to be questioned by the Grand Master! He came out, and believe it or not, he screwed up the ORDER of the questions. But, fortunately, I had learned the answers, I hadn’t just memorized the answers in the order they were written on the card I was given. But, one question (suitably paraphrased all these years later) was ‘Where did the brethren go to receive their wages?’ Of course, the proper answer is ‘the middle
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chamber of King Solomon’s Temple.’ On the floor, and under the pressure of the presence of the GM, I said ‘in the middle chamber of King Solomon’s TOMB!’ No one said anything, no tittering, no laughter, just moved along to the next question. At the end, the GM congratulated me, returned to his seat next to the WM, and the meeting continued. After lodge was closed, the JW (who was a very short, stocky Chief Petty Officer) came up to me and shook my hand. But while shaking hands, he said quietly, ‘you know Commander, you certainly like to get paid in some pretty strange places.’ I asked him what he meant, and he said ‘Middle chamber of King Solomon’s Tomb’ – I said I didn’t say that, and he replied ‘Oh, yes you did. We all heard it, and we’re not going to let you forget it either.’ And, THAT’s the kind of experience that cemented my bond to the Craft…
Temple... or tomb?
not the need and ability to memorize a large amount of text. I witness in awe those brothers who CAN memorize all that, and I know not all of them find it easy. But, for me, it’s not just difficult, it’s darned near impossible without undergoing extensive hypnotherapy to get two pages of monologue into the memory cells where I can recall it.
September 2020
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