This year will be my first year attending Grand Lodge sessions. As Junior Warden, I get to vote, too! One of the proposals on the ballot this year is an interesting one: ours may no longer be a dry Grand Lodge! Under certain circumstances, we'll be able to serve alcohol in the Temple. Most of these circumstances cover times when only Freemasons are present, but that should mean that we can have a real table lodge. I'm very excited, and even bought myself a new necktie for the event (it's burgundy with yellow rhinoceroses).

This year, the Grand Lodge is meeting in Redmond, which is about four hours from here, out in Eastern Oregon. It's one of my favorite parts of the state, as it's full of high desert wildlife, plants, great vistas, and beautiful landscapes. I hope it will give me a chance to relax a bit and finish up a book review I've been working on.

In other Masonic news, Bro. Dave Daugherty has started a Masonic weblog! I'm no longer alone in the Masonoverse! I've met Bro. Dave a couple of times, and he's a really great, really intelligent man. He is an advocate of Universal Freemasonry and last year undertook a "Fast for Forgotten Brethren", about which he says, "My Supreme wish is that the Grand Masters (and others), will issue edicts confirming Universal Brotherhood without regard to race, religion and recognize the Grand Lodge de France."