Grand High Priest Reception 1/8 District

Tonight we were at the joint Grand High Priest Reception in the 1st and 8th districts held at the Browning Masonic Home. The evening started out with dinner and it was one of the first times Pam has been out of the house for an extended period of time since her jaw reconstruction surgery and by the time we got there she was very sore again (and still can't eat but a few very soft foods). It was good to see REC Keith Green out from his knee surgery though he said he was still very sore. MEC Wayne Dill came back from Tennessee to give out the Dill awards and the DDGHP's of each district gave out their district awards. MEC Dill also made a nice note of the extra effort our GHP has made over the years to support our Charity, Adopt America, and thanked him for his thoughtful acknowledgement this year of our military veterans with the special pin and grand honors. We heard a nice presentation on the new homes being built at the Browning and our Grand High Priest, Robert Blankenhorn Jr. made some heart felt comments and had a special presentation for MEC Dill. (note on the cake the spelling of MEC name)

Adoniram Council Installation

Tonight was our annual installation of officers for Council in Miamisburg and we had 20 in attendance. MIC Bobby Campbell installed the officers and Greg Fannin was installed IM and Ken Turner is the outgoing IM. We have no PIM in the progressing line as well as the appointed officers are also not Past Illustrious Masters. It was very warm at the meeting so they kept things moving along.

Busy and Hectic Week

While I only have made it to one Masonic meeting this week it has been no less stressful. Since Pam could hardly even talk up until yesterday and was still having balance issues even through today from her surgery last week, I've been working at home and today we suffered a power outage. We have also been working every evening to get the last minute things ready for the first day of mom's estate sale tomorrow when we need to be there to help around 6:30 AM ... probably lasting into the evening. We also have been helping Laura get her plans together as she moves to Knoxville within the next month or so to transfer to the University of Tennessee in the fall. We had to take the new trailer in to get a couple issues we found on our Memorial Day outing to get fixed and finally are starting to get some of the financial information from mom's settled so we can take it to our financial planner. It has also really started setting in this week that the dog passed away over Memorial Day weekend. And to add to the fun, work has been very busy this week. I just have to keep focused as hopefully the second day of mom's sale, which is being held next Friday, will be the start of a little less chaos though I doubt it!

Unity Chapter #16 installation

Today was the first daytime meeting of Unity Chapter at the Dayton Masonic Center and while most of the year it was tough to get out 10 members to meet, today we had 14 and almost every office was filled. It was a positive start for what many are calling a new beginning for Unity chapter. Prior to the meeting and installation of officers, they shared a lunch with another Masonic associated group meeting in the temple. The good part was some of those Masons in the other group were unaware of Unity changing to meet during the day and said maybe at the next meeting they might stay for the Unity chapter meeting. In addition, they held a memorial service for the departed members over the past year. 

Portage Chapter #202 Dedication

Well today we were back in Akron at Portage Chapter and this time were dedicating a new building for them to meet within. The Chapter voted to change their meeting location and so we needed to dedicate a room for Chapter work. As this is MEC Dale Ray's home chapter, he was also present. Most of the Grand officers were present and after the dedication folks went downstairs for some light refreshments and a few went out together for dinner. Since I had a couple of items I needed to get done at home, I headed out to get back home as soon as possible afterward.

11th District Grand High Priest Reception

Tonight was the reception in Columbus for our Grand High Priest Robert Blankenhorn. Grand Royal Arch Captain Dan Smith and PGHP Don Lossaso were also present. I like it as the reception is held at the MCL Cafeteria and the food is good and you can choose exactly what you want. Also they have a separate room for us so it can be closed off for the activity.  Afterwards they presented the GHP with a gift and passed out district awards.

OCD

Tonight was the Ohio Council of Deliberation or the state meeting for the Scottish Rite. I attended to see the persons from the Valley of Dayton who were receiving their Red Hats. These are presented for outstanding service to Scottish Rite. In Dayton, we had Dan Frye and Bill Garlow receiving them. Dan is in the choir and with the aging choir members, he has taken on the role of soloist for them. Bill has helped as the editor for their newsletter for years. Both are very deserving as their respective work consumes many hours every month.

Past Masters Club Meeting

Tonight was the Shrine Past Master's monthly club meeting and while the numbers were down we had several good discussions about what could be done to improve attendance. One of our issues is that most of our members are super involved in other groups and have to make a decision on which meeting they are going to attend. One of the ideas I suggested was while cancelling meetings might seem like a solution when several can't attend maybe changing the time & location, possibly to dinner at a restaurant, is probably better than cancelling all together. Letting people "get out of the habit" of coming to meetings is a deadly idea for any group as it becomes almost impossible to "re-train' them to attend.

Pam Surgery

Well today Pam was finally cleared to have her dental surgery that she has been waiting to have due to an ongoing infection for over a year. The surgery was fairly painful as it involves a reconstruction of gums and jaw. Not sure how long it will take her to fully recover but I'm sure it will not be quick as the swelling, the doctor indicated, may take weeks to fully go away. Luckily this week Laura was available to help her but that is not always going to be the case and since the drugs they have her on for pain and to fight infections are fairly strong she is slightly unstable, driving is not allowed and standing needs assistance as she often gets dizzy. So until she gets a doctors release I will be her caregiver though she seems fine just in lots of pain ...even with the medication.

Our Dog Buzz

Sad news yesterday... Buzz was all excited about getting to go camping in the new trailer this weekend. He got so excited we had to make him sit down and rest to cool down and get himself under control which he did a short while after arriving at the campground. Suddenly around 1130 pm he collapsed on the floor and appeared to have either a seizure or stroke so we rushed him to the animal hospital but he unfortunately did not make it and passed away. It was 4 years ago this weekend that we first brought him home. He loved to camp and was always overly excited when he got to go. He was by far the best behaved beagle we ever had and will definitely be missed.