From the 3d to 14th in less than 48 hours

What a day. Up at 3:30 am. Coffee and the paper. Shave and shower. Get ready and leave for Greenville by 6:00 am in order to be at the Scottish Rite Center by 7:00 am. I got there about 6:50 am and it was still pitch dark. No cars in the huge parking lot, so I just stood there in the dark. About 7:00 a Lincoln Town Car pulls into the lot and parks right beside me. An older Brother gets out wearing the white hat of a 33d Mason. He greets me and I shake his hand and introduce myself.

"Where is everybody?" I asked.

"C'mon," he replied, "we gotta go in around back."

Now keep in mind this is a large parking lot and I'd parked toward the front of the center. We start a rather long walk down the hill to the back of the center and as we round the corner I see several cars in the back. I was immediately struck by how kind and gracious this elder Brother had been to me. He could have just pulled up, rolled his window down, and said "You need to park around back." But he didn't. He saw me standing there "stranded" and parked beside me in order to walk me to the back where everyone was--and him probably at least 25 years my senior. What a memorable way to start me off in the Scottish Rite.

I was one of 9 candidates for the Ineffable Degrees today and they were beautifully done. The SGIG made a point of telling the class that I had just been raised a Master Mason on Thursday. I don't know if proceeding to the Lodge of Perfection less than 48 hours after being raised a Master Mason is some sort of record, but it sure seemed to surprise most of the Brothers when they heard it.

So, I'm now a 14th Degree Mason. I will get the 15th through the 32d degrees next Saturday.