Sworls, Whirls, and Stonemasons. Oh My.

The children saw a local teevee ad wherein a stonemason was being sought for local work. They asked what was a stonemason? Basically, we talked about craftsmen who work with stones, bricks, etc. Then we talked about fingerprints and how each of us is born with a unique pattern of such. We talked about that because I used the words unique fingerprints in discussing the work of skilled stonemasons. We talked a little about the history of such craftsmen and even worked in the concept of brotherhoods. Anyway, they went on about their homeschool assignments and Annie went back to work typing files. In the recesses of Annie's sometimes tangential noggin, the Freemasons floated forward. But, we were much too busy to make any uh, concrete [haha] associations.

As so often occurs with daughter Sarah, she incorporates a processing of new knowledge or feelings about a subject into paintings. The picture above is the one she did while thinking about fingerprints, stonemasons, and brotherhoods. She chose a dark paper background, neon blue and orange paint, a paper cut-out "add on" in the upper right hand corner [she said it was a stone box] and, of course, her fingers to create the artwork. Sarah creates many, many pieces of art in a day. Some days, literally, 50 or more. This one caught my attention not only for its brilliant colors, but for it's serpentinelike qualities and the interesting "add on."

Yesterday, the Freemasons were prominently featured in an ABC News article and on Good Morning, America! [of all venues.] Not just the Freemasons, mind you, but their ultra secret fraternity of the 33rd degree "Supreme Council" of the Scottish Rite Group. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. [Washington, D.C.?] Why not Wenatchee or Topeka or Idaho Falls where the air is clear and the land so much more suitable to stonebuilding? ha ha. We digress. Now what are those whacky fellas of the funny hats and sort of gaudy rings doing out and about in such a public forum? It made no sense. Hi! Good Morning, America, how are ya?! Don't ya know us, we're your native sons? Sorry, Arlo. Actually, "they" said something like this: We're an organization prone to being viewed as well ... cultish and nefarious. Fodder for every conspiracy theorist in history. Well, it seems that the brotherhood of masons has suffered an alarming drop in membership over the last few years.

Then I looked at their website. Yes. The website of the 33rd degree Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite Group of the Freemasons. Nothing so out of the ordinary for a secret brotherhood. lol I notice a tiny banner in the upper lefthand corner of this website. It quietly harked "As Seen On Good Morning, America!" okay, then. Still pondering the question of *why* would the Scottish Rite Grand Poobah go so public? And at this particular time? So, Annie went back to the original ABC news article and there it was. In the beginning. "Dan Brown, writer of Opus Dei, [an expose of the Catholic Flagellating Fraternity] is next tackling the Freemasons."

So, is this an attempt by the Highest Council of the Freemasons to begin an early campaign of presenting themselves as holy and good? Or is it simply an attempt to encourage membership? A smattering of both? Or neither? This is a very wealthy organization. See the financial detail on their website. Their temple is opulent and cost millions. And being a very wealthy organization, we doubt that they actually need [pardon] so much new blood. The Grand Executive Director is retired Rear Admiral William Sizemore of the United States Navy. That's a fairly impressive Poobah! So, who knows. Anyhoo, you can read the ABC news full article here:

"Secrets of the Freemasons -- Do They Control the Government?"

The paragraph in the above article that really caught my attention, particularly in relation to Sarah's serpentine painting, was this:

"The Freemasons have a 500-year history. Originally, they were stonemasons who built the great cathedrals of Europe.

Although there were once anti-Masonic political parties and early 19th-century President John Quincy Adams called the Freemasons a power-hungry "boa constrictor" of an organization, Fletcher said Freemasonry had always been about improving oneself. The nature of the self-reflective process is private, he said, and many people mistake that for secrecy."

And that led me back here, to an amazing fingerprint in its own right, at Da Black Whole. It was a stellar feature called "Ragnarok and Man Son Role." Read it here: RAGNAROK

Now, you can go have a look at the 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Supreme Council of the Freemasons right here: http://www.srmason.net/

I better put in their copyright. Wouldn't want any of these guys mad at Annie.

©1996-2006 The Supreme Council, 33°, S.J. USA. All Rights Reserved 1733 16th. St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA

Hey! My grandpa, daddy's dad, was a Shriner. His life was about doing good deeds. Or about being a "good deed doer," as the Oz Wizard might reply. Grandpa Mike had a funny Fez and a mason's ring. The typical dark stone set under the golden "G" stylus emblem. Annie can attest to the secrecy involved in his particular fraternity. We had absolutely no idea, not a clue, what it was. All we knew as children was that once a year, we were able to go see the "Shriner's Circus" at the Medinah Temple in Chicago. Gotta love those mini GTO wheels. lol Every kid who ever viewed a Shriner's Parade wanted one. Annie's grandpa did *not* have one. He was more of a Cadillac kinda guy. [note the "Fez" on the unknown fella (center) in the background. GroovyVWs fellas!]

The next thing that caused a bit of focused attention was found on the 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Supreme Council's website. It seems that most of these Freemason brotherhoods do lots of good deeds or are big good deed doers, as the Wizard in Oz might state. heh. The primary philanthropic arm of the 33rd Degree fraternity is in the area of ... oh yes ... Children and Others with Communication Disorders. Speech and Language Pathologies. And "other" learning disorders and disabilities.

Well, heck ... why didn't you fellas just come on out and say you've got a vested interest in AUTISM? Annie's neck hair is all hackled now and the egg basket is popping out chopped salad faster than an Irritable Bowel can pop out content. But, we have so little time just now to connect ALL THE DOTS and mix the mayo! So, for now, please remember Annie's prior posts on Autism, her own non-verbal son, the QIM Tunes [the work therein speaks to an "original brotherhood" but a completely different kind] and facilitated communication. Go nose around the hen house yourselves. See what feathers fly about the egg nests! Keep an eye out over the shoulder for wolves and look at the below picture and just wonder a bit. Then, if time and the U.S. Naval Intelligence Department permit, we'll come back to this uh, issue.

"Stone Keyboard"

Stones would play
inside her head
And where she slept,
They made her bed
And she would ache
For love
and get but stones
La la la la la la la la la

Lordy, child
A good day’s comin’
And I’ll be there to let the sun in
And bein’ lost
Is worth the comin’ home
La la la la la la la la la
on stones

You and me,
a time for planting
You and me, a harvest granting
the every prayer ever prayed
For just two wild flowers that grow
La la la la la la la la la
on stones
Mmmmmmmm.....
Neil Diamond
On Stones

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