Val, The Ring, and the Fork

By James C. “Chris” Williams IV – Staff Writer

We had just finished a fabulous meal and I was hoping John was ready to talk.  So far nothing crazy had happened and with a little luck, we might get out of here without anything weird catching up to us.  I had taken him to Maggiano’s but thankfully this time we weren’t crashing a wedding.  Nope, I brought him to Val.  Now who, you ask, is Val?  Well Pam and I come here at least once a week and we always sit in the bar area and only where Val will be our server.  We have been going to Maggiano’s for several years and for us it is only what it is because of Val. Val is of course short for Valerie and although the food is fabulous, if it was not the best, we would still come because of her.  Yes, this is our place and she, along with Will and Becky, and Cynthia and all the others, makes the experience the best it can be.  John had, as usual, ordered almost everything on the menu….  Lasagna, fried zucchini, cheese ravioli, chicken alfredo, and chicken piccata, all with generous amounts of warm bread and Caesar salad…and that was just for John.  I just had Lasagna and a salad, and it was all I could eat.  There we were just basking in the warm and fuzzy that comes with a full stomach. 

“Brother Chris,” he asked slowly.  “Have you ever had something happen to you that you just couldn’t explain?  Something so profound that it changed forever the way you thought about things… something that just had to be the work of the Great Architect of the Universe?” “Actually, I ha**,” I tried to respond, as he cut me off.  Obviously, he did not expect, nor did he want an answer.  “This is one of my favorite stories and I don’t tell it often, but sometimes it is the just the right time,” he said, pulling several folded pages out of his shirt pocket and beginning to read.  “This story begins with a Brother Mason who was on his death bed….  he knew his earthly life was about to be over.  His family gathered around his bed ….  wanting to be with him until the end.  He asked for one of his daughters and when she bent close, he whispered to her a dying man’s request……… that she make sure that her son….  his Grandson would someday become a Freemason.  She readily made the promise to him as any good daughter would…….and he smiled……and then ……he was gone.

The next day a six-year-old boy was presented with a cardboard box by his Mother.  The box contained several books with some unusual markings and pictures on them, a Bible…., a funny cocked hat, and a sword with some of the same markings on it as the books. 

He was as aware as a six-year-old boy can be …that his Grandfather had gone to be with the angels and he would never see him again.  Standing there, a little bewildered….  his Mother told him that the box was from his Grandfather and that he had wanted his Grandson to be a Freemason someday.  The boy nodded….  without understanding why ….and took the box to his room where it stayed for the next 16 years.  During those years as he was growing up, he had often seen the box packed away in the back of his closet …….  without thinking too much about it …….  or the promise his Mother had made to his Grandfather. 

Eventually, he moved out of the house and along with all his belongings the box went with him.  It wasn’t long before he was married and at one point his wife had seen and asked about the old, now tattered box and he had mumbled something about his Grandfather had given it to him and offered no explanation beyond that……

The box with its contents …….and the promise…….  went unfulfilled for many years until one day the Grandson met a man who was a salesman who was calling on the business where the Grandson worked.  As the salesman spoke, the Grandson noticed an unusual symbol on the ring that the salesman was wearing, and he realized that it was one of the same symbols he had seen on the books in the box his Grandfather had given him all those years ago.  He inquired about it and found out that the man was a member of a fraternity called the Freemasons.  He asked the man to tell him about the mysterious organization.  As the man talked… the Grandson began to… for the first time… gain a glimmer of understanding of what his Grandfather had been a part of so many years ago ….  and more importantly ….  why.  That conversation led to more conversations which led to a friendship.  That friendship led the Grandson to at last fulfill his Grandfather’s dying wish….and become a Freemason. 

Over the next 15 years he grew as a man and as a Mason and eventually became Master of his Lodge.  Upon completing his year in the East, he became interested in his Grandfather’s Masonic career and began a search to find his Lodge and information about him Masonically.  He knew that he was a good man….  from his Mother and the rest of the family….  but he wanted to connect with him….  to get to know him… Brother to Brother ……as only a shared Masonic experience can do. 

That search turned up much information including the fact that the Grandfather had been Master of his Lodge….  and for many years, had served as The Secretary.  This information was provided by the Secretary of the Grandfather’s Lodge who was happy to chart the Grandfather’s Masonic journey.

 The Secretary invited the Grandson to visit the Lodge where his Grandfather’s picture was hanging proudly on the wall of the Lodgeroom with the other Past Masters.  The visit was an emotional one for the Grandson who saw the picture hanging in the North part of the Lodgeroom and had the opportunity to view the minutes of meetings of the Lodge which bore the signature of his Grandfather as Master that were over 75 years old.  From that moment on, the association with the Secretary became a close Masonic friendship and they continued to stay in touch. 

It was about a year later when the Grandson opened an email from the Secretary asking him the question…….  What would you say if I told you that I know where your Grandfather’s Masonic ring is? 

Since being made a Mason and knowing that almost every Mason wore a Masonic ring, the Grandson had often wondered what had happened to his Grandfather’s ring after his death.  It was not in the tattered cardboard box he had finally gone through and lovingly touched and carefully placed each item in its own special place in his office.  He had all but forgotten about it long ago…… surmising that it had been left on the finger it had occupied for 25 years before laying down the working tools of life.

 The emotions stirred by the Secretary’s revelation were hard to suppress and it took several minutes to respond.  When he did, it was that “he had no words to express the emotion he felt at this news.” 

The quick reply by the Secretary… “My Brother, if you have ever wondered if the Great Architect was truly guiding our way through this middle chamber of life….  then you had better call me because I am about to dispel any doubts.” 

With a shaky hand the Grandson dialed the familiar number, and the call was answered before the first ring was finished.  Barely able to control his excitement, the secretary said that he had an amazing story to tell him. 

He said that two days before on a Saturday, the Lodge had held a BBQ fundraiser and it had just ended for the day.  The Brothers of the Lodge and the Eastern Star were in the process of cleaning up after the event.

 He said that he was at his Secretary’s desk in the Lodge and the only other people in the Lodge were the Worshipful Master and his wife.  They were talking to each other standing next to the JW station in the South directly opposite where the Grandfather’s picture was hanging in the North.  He said that as he was working on Lodge paperwork, he heard the wife ask her husband the WM, “Did you ever know Blaine Price?”  The Secretary, realizing that she had just used the name of the Grandfather he had researched for the Grandson, and that the question seemingly came out of nowhere …looked up quickly, just in time to see the completely confused look on the WM’s face, who had no clue who she was talking about nor where the question came from. 

The WM shook his head and told her that he had never met him.  She then told the WM that her Father had been Brother Price’s mentor in Masonry and that they had worked together at the Fire Dept.  She said that after Brother Price’s death, his widow had given his Masonic ring to her father.  who had bequeathed it to her……and that after all those years…she still had it.  She said that she remembered Brother Price, and the times he would come to her house to talk to her father and the strong bond they seemed to have.

 The Secretary told the Grandson that upon hearing this he sprang out of his chair and covered the few feet between his desk and the South station at almost a run.  He confronted the surprised woman and asked her what had made her ask that question about Brother Price?” She thought for a second or two and replied that, she really didn’t know ….  that it had just popped into her mind right at that moment. 

The Secretary then proceeded to tell her the story of the Grandson who had contacted him and of his visit to the Lodge.  He said at that moment she got a funny look on her face and turned to look at the North wall and that he and the WM, having the same thought…… looked around to where the picture was hanging in the North….  half expecting to see Brother Price standing there. 

The Secretary said that he was, at that moment, as the hair on the back of his neck was standing up, convinced that this long departed Brother had somehow picked the right time…..with the right people…… in the right place …..to make sure that his most treasured Masonic possession ….his Masonic ring……could find its way to the person he wanted to have it……… With tears in her eyes, the wife immediately said that she wanted to give it to the Grandson. 

The Grandson….  hearing all of this….  tears streaming down his cheeks…..was completely convinced that his Grandfather …working through the guiding influence of the Great Architect of the Universe had found a way to connect with him……. …through the shared love and understanding of the true meaning of our Masonic Fraternity ………our Brotherly love and affection of one another.  He realized that the connection with his Grandfather that he had been seeking had just happened and he would be forever changed by it.” I noticed as John read, his voice got softer and softer and by the end it was almost hoarse.  He got quiet and I instinctively knew that I needed to quietly wait.  After a couple of minutes he continued, “Brother Chris, there is no doubt in my mind that what happened here was meant to happen ….that it was probably written a long time ago…….and that it may be part of a larger plan……a plan that has yet to reveal itself.” Then he stopped and I, exposing myself to John Deacon scorn for interrupting said in a whisper, (why was I whispering, I have no clue) “John, that was an amazing story.  Where did you get that?” He looked up and as we locked eyes, I could tell his were wet.  As he wiped away a tear with the back of his hand, he pulled something off the little finger of his left hand and reached across the table and handed it to me.  As I stared at it with my mouth hanging open, I asked with a voice that was barely audible, “Is this it, John.  Is this your Grandfather’s ring?” I looked up as he wiped away another tear and nodded slowly.  “Wow John,” I exclaimed!  “I had no idea as you read that.  What a beautiful story.  It is beautifully written too…Did you write it?  I have no words except wow!” “Heck yes I wrote it,” he said stiffly.  “You think you are the only one who can write stuff down?  Actually, I tried to write it the way you would.” “Well, it was great,” I said, and I meant it.  He smiled and said softly, “After this, I do not believe in luck…or coincidence anymore… …I now know that wherever I am is where I am supposed to be and whatever happens is what is supposed to happen…….and when I stopped looking at was right in front of me ……..and instead stepped back and broadened my view I can now see beyond what is readily apparent…….I can see much more than I did before and understand much more than I did before. The Great Architect is always guiding us…….  The choice we all have is to fight his guidance or relax and go with him.  It does not mean that we should sit back and wait for him to show us what to do.  We alone are responsible for our lives and how we live them.  He leads us to a fork in the road every day….and sometimes, several times a day… where we must make a decision….  right ….  or wrong.  We know what the right decision is almost every time….and yet we still many times make the wrong one….  but he never gives up on us….  he always has confidence in us….and he leads us back to that fork and gives us another chance.” He smiled and slid out of the booth and stuck out his massive hand and I gripped it….  yes with the strong grip of a Master Mason.  He said, “Brother Chris, he found me, and he gave me his ring.  Nothing could be more Masonically special than that.  And I will never be the same.” As he turned and walked out the door, I could not help but wipe away a tear as I whispered, “I love you, my Brother John.  God bless you, my friend.”