I first petitioned Madison Lodge No. 5 in October of 1998. I was raised to Master Mason in March of 1999.

My initial contact to Freemasonry was indirect. I am an amateur historian, as many Masons are, and I have been fascinated for many years by the history of the Knights Templar. This militant order of ecclestical knights and monks played a huge role during the Crusades in the Holy Land. At one point, I read that the Templars went underground in the early 1300's, and during their years of covert activity, became the Freemasons. So I naturally wanted to know more about the modern-day Masonic fraternity.

During the year or so I spent in researching Freemasonry, I became convinced that the Templar connection simply could not be proven. But by then, I had learned enough about Masonry to know that these were men who I wanted to stand with, and be called one of their number.

Masonry has been called a system of morality, "veiled in allegory and taught by symbol." For me, Masonry was simply a reminder of what I already knew. My parents taught me to be true and tolerant, charitable and always ready to assist another in need. Masonry reinforces those concepts. It allows you to spend time with other men who feel as you do, who believe in those things to which all Masons (and many non-Masons) can agree: that there is a Supreme Being responsible for the creation of all things, and that some part of us lives on, even after the body passes into dust. Spending time with other men builds a fellowship that runs deep.

"I am a Freemason." Saying that places me in the company of Presidents and kings, and other leaders of nations. Famous artists and scientists are brothers to me as well. And those connections are ones I value, more than I would ever have imagined.

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Last Update March 19, 2000