Rather against the spirit and tenets of our Order, I've been fulminating about unofficial prompting in Lodge lately (See below). This came to a head for me on Monday night: we put on a first degree and I was the S:.D:.
I am conscious of the fact that I don't know the work in letter-perfect fashion, and equally cognizant that I commit what can only be referred to as idiotic errors some times. My floor work is execrable, despite actually practicing it numerous times in an empty lodge, and half the time I'm walking on the wrong line, and the other half, when I am actually walking properly, I somehow convince myself that I am screwing something up. My oral work isn't much better. I do have a sonorous speaking voice, however, so when I say something that is really idiotic, there is no doubt whatever that everyone in Lodge heard me do so. This was manifestly apparent on Monday when I said,
"It is t w and p of the WM that I r y into t L of EA; I r y on t p o a s inst applied to y n RIGHT b...,"
I knew: I screwed up. A guffaw from the sidelines added extra emphasis. Luckily, the candidate didn't realize it, although I'm sure he was puzzled at why Freemasons transpose right and left on occasions such as these. But, in my best "well, F-- it, and let's get him started praying" manner, I just went on. There were a couple of other screw-ups in there somewhere, but it went off just fine, the candidate didn't die, the goat got his licks in, and there wasn't a lot of blood to clean up afterwards... and before long, I led him out to be reinvested.
The minute I left the newly admitted Bro., GUNNERY SGT. HARTMAN was there to meet me, nearly breathless with excitement.
"Do you know what you said?" he asked me with a smirk.
The Gunny is our unofficial lodge prompter, 25+ years a Mason, knows all the work, etc., etc., and he is unusually diligent in making one aware of that fact.
"Tell me, so we'll both know," I said, exasperated.
"You said 'right' instead of left! This is the first degree. It's left, not right."
Seriously? It's Left? Hell, all these years I thought we received them with an aluminium brake pad applied to the small of their back while dipping their right ear in Gooseberry jam? My God! I am so glad SOMEONE FINALLY TOLD ME THAT. Now, I can sleep at night.....
Actually, I just murmured a curt reply and turned on my heel, still pretty hot though, although I'm not sure why this one bothered me more than the four score other corrections, guffaws, shouted instructions and stage-whispered prompts I (and everyone else) have received from the Gunny over the years. When the time came for Bro. Hartman to give the longest lecture of the night, I decided to answer the classical question: who polices the police? in the first person.
I would.
I cracked open my cypher and followed along word for word through the 30 minute lecture, and more to make myself feel better than anything else, I kept tabs on his proficiency. All told, there were eleven errors, omissions, or transpositions, which would have earned a stinging rebuke from the speaker had someone else said them. Now, I'm not suggesting that the brother did a lousy job - he did a fine job. I certainly could not have done better and probably would have mauled the thing terribly. And the best part was, the candidate never knew those mistakes had been made, which is the most important thing anyway. But I knew. Others, too probably - it's common for the brethren to have their cyphers (this jurisdiction allows coded monitors) open and reading during work.
Despite my ire, I did not say one word about the errors to the brother. I wanted to for a moment, but I didn't.
And neither did anyone else.
There's a lesson in there somewhere, Go'r bless me.
10 comments:
Ah, but you did say something about it. You posted on an Internet weblog and, who knows, it may even get back to him.
I am fortunate that we don't have any prompters, official or unofficial, hanging around our lodge. I can see how it would make the work frustrating.
Of course, we aren't allowed a cipher in lodge either...
John
You're right, of course, but in this venue, my comments allow me to vent without hurting his feelings. Perhaps you will disagree, but I find that more in keeping with what we are trying to do, than outright confrontation in anger.
John said:
I am fortunate that we don't have any prompters, official or unofficial, hanging around our lodge. I can see how it would make the work frustrating.
John, this very blog post is the reason you should have an official prompter. If you don't, you are just asking for trouble.
As DC at one of my Lodges, I am the prompter. No one else. It's very clear. There are no problems.
Justa Mason
We have a very good ritual lodge, and all the bros know that nobody will prompt or shout out a word unless the speaker looks at his appointed prompter and asks for a cue! When I've done degrees in other lodges, I've forgotten to instruct the brethren who aren't used to this, and have been ticked off when, in the middle of a dramatic pause, somebody tried to "help" me.
When I sit in the East for degrees elsewhere, I now gently remind the bros that the Friendship Lodge team has one or two designated prompters, and ask them to please, just relax and enjoy the show - quietly. This usually gets a chuckle and gets the point across.
TA: You know, Tom, it's the same with us, except for this brother.
You might have replied to his obvious glee by saying "Bro. Gunny, it sometimes seems as if you're not so much trying to correct me as you are trying to show off your own skills. I know what I did wrong, and I'll make an effort to improve for the next time, okay?"
Yes, I've done this, and it worked. However, we really only have one or two guys who are like that, and they aren't nearly as bad as you describe your Bro. Gunny.
And frankly, I might have written a list of things that Gunny missed and given it to him with a wink and a suggestion that he study it, as I'm only trying to help him improve.
In my lodge, the master always tells the brethren: during this degree, Br. Tim (who is, by the way, the Officer's Coach) will be the ONLY brother to offer words or correction, and he will only do that when the officer looks TO him for help.
For the sake of the candidate, please, brethren, maintain a respectful silence during the degree. He says this EVERY TIME we do a degree, which is 3 to four times PER MONTH.
By now, everyone knows, but he does it anyway, just to remind anyone that may have missed a meeting in the past two years.
On the other hand, I saw the master of a lodge, who was being prompted from the sidelines (actually, corrected) hand his hat to the Treasurer on his right, step out of the east and approach the brother.
He took off his jewel and handed it and the gavel to the brother. He told him to please take the east, since he knew the work better than the master, and sat down next to the brother.
After what seemed like a year, but couldn't have been more than half a minute of DEAD silence filled with the prompting brother's pleading eyes, the master stood and whispered (thank you) to the brother and walked back to the east and finished the meeting without further prompts.
I would suggest you thank the Gunny for his help, and in a most friendly manner, tell him that you are trying to learn the work, and that, perhaps it is you, but his help is making it harder for you and would he consider offering suggestions AFTER the meeting... for the benefit of the candidate, not you.
You might be surprised.
Way to promote the peace and harmony of your lodge! Why can't you accept the "assistance of a well qualified brother"? I am in no way aware of the tone or "venom" that may or may not have taken place, but I can say that if you were in error and the lodge witnessed it, then rightwise a senior brother should have cautioned you on it and offered to help you improve your memory work! As to your decision to open your monitor and follow along with the lecture while a valid instinct, is not something that should be posted here!!!! It is not bed enough that we as an esteemed and ennobled fraternity are faced with detractions from the profane and barbarians at every turn but you would be so bold as to air your lodges dirty laundry, and post links that lend a further ear to those same detractors is appalling! I am inclined to believe that such actions should have you wearing your apron "flap up" and changing your name to "Cautious"!!!!!!
Anvil: thanks for your post.
I did accept the assistance of a well qualified brother. It was the derisive laughter I wasn't overly fond of.
I agree with much of what you have written, and I struggle with it daily. If your "well informed brother" suggestion is to be applied universally, then you seem to suggest that I should have informed the brother of his own errors, as well. Is it so? You are certainly not suggesting that the guffaws should be included, as well, are you?
As for the post itself - it is contrived - and identifies no particular lodge. Its design is to prompt suggestions/comments such as yours. I give away no secrets here.
Whoa, lighten up, Anvil. Waf is simply describing something that makes most of us crazy, good ritualists or not. Nobody should be the object of humiliation or derision, especially during the middle of a degree. People are going to make mistakes; the best of us work on a way to blow past those mistakes in order not to disrupt the degree, the less experienced get a little rattled and try to recover as best as they can.
Sometimes it's not in what was said, but how it was presented. Obviously, Bro. "Gunny" has some rough edges that he's not aware of.
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