How Should Masons Dress and The Great American Land and Cattle Company

By Brother James C. “Chris” Williams, IV – Staff Writer - The Profound Pontifications of Brother John Deacon

I don’t really know.  Maybe it was just that time of the year.  The weather had started getting cooler and I could see some leaves starting to change color.  The squirrels that entertained us all day running and jumping from limb to limb in that big old Oak tree outside the window of the shop were busy collecting acorns.  Watching them made me think it might be a colder than normal winter this year.  I had been feeling a lot hungrier lately and I wondered if it was just that natural biological instinct to begin to prepare for the winter.  As I was daydreaming watching those squirrels, out of the corner of my eye I saw a big black truck pull into the handicapped parking place right in front of the door to the shop.  The old saying that “you better watch out what you wish for because you just might get it” popped into my head as I watched his “high and mightiness” John Deacon slide out of Ol’ Blackie and amble towards the door.  Me not wanting to lose a good opportunity when it was presented to me, as soon as he opened the door I said in a voice loud enough for the several customers in the waiting area to hear, “I couldn’t help noticing, sir, that you have parked in the handicapped spot and your truck doesn’t seem to have the proper handicap display on it. So I am assuming that since you don’t seem to have a physical handicap that you must have some kind of mental deficiency.” The customers all had surprised looks on their faces except one lady who began to giggle.  John gave me a disgusted look and turned to the giggler and said, “Ma’am, you do know that laughing when he says something like that only encourages him.  He thinks he is funny, but he is not.” To my disappointment she nodded her agreement with what he said but kept on giggling.  He shook his head and turned to me and said, “Brother Chris, I was just passing through and I heard on the radio about a new place that we haven’t tried yet so I reined Ol’ Blackie in here to pick you up to take you to eat. I hear they’ve got a fine Chicken Fried Steak, and you can have anything you want.” “Does that mean you are buying me lunch John,” I asked hopefully?  “Not a chance my Brother,” he laughed out loud, “But you CAN still have anything you want.  Now load it up, we’re wasting daylight.” And with that he climbed back in that big black truck and waved me to hurry up.  I looked over at Roger who shook his head and told me that he hoped I had enough money, and to bring him back something sweet.  As I walked out the door that lady was still giggling and I thought to myself, “I don’t know why she was still laughing; my line was funnier than his.” I had to take my own truck because John wasn’t coming back in my direction after lunch.  As it turned out the place he heard about on the radio was the same place that I had been wanting to go.  He had no clue where it was, so I had to play the navigator and after he almost missed a couple of turns we finally pulled into the parking lot of the “Great American Land and Cattle Company.” I also had heard that the Chicken Fried Steak was great and was looking forward to trying it.  They seated us pretty quick and our server, Chelsea, took our drink orders while we were perusing the menu.  John zeroed in on the Chicken Fried Steak right away while I was checking the rest of the choices.  I noticed that they had Hatch Green Chilis listed.  I remembered having Hatch Chili when I was in El Paso with some of the Education Committee members…Tommy and Vi, Jason, Larry, and our old buddy Erik.  I remembered the great flavor of those tasty green chilies.  John had already ordered Chicken Fried Steak and when I told him about the Hatch Chilis he promptly ordered a Hatch Green Chili Cheeseburger also with all the fixins.  Chelsea had a shocked look on her face and was trying to explain to John how big the Chicken Fried Steaks were because she thought he had ordered too much food.  John politely asked her just how big they were and she pointed to another server who had a plate in her hand and I could see that it was huge.  John saw it too and thanked her for pointing it out and said that he was going to need another Chicken Fried Steak added to his order.  Chelsea’s face turned a little pale, and she looked at me like I was going to talk some sense into John.  Instead, I ordered a Chicken Fried Steak for myself and an order of fried Hatch Chilis and she headed for the kitchen shaking her head as is common with servers who have just taken John’s order.  While we were waiting for our food we talked about the upcoming Grand Lodge Communication.

It sure looked like it was going to be a busy couple of days in Waco.  I asked him if he had anything worth writing about to share with me since the month was drawing to a close and I still hadn’t written my article.  He started to say something, but just at that moment a truck load of food showed up.  Chelsea had enlisted a couple of other servers to help her and by the time everything was on the table there wasn’t enough room for even a saltshaker.  As she stood there still in shock she asked us if there was anything else she could get us, but her tone of voice told us not to even ask.  John, however piped up and said, “Darlin, this looks great, but I am surely going to have to have a bunch more gravy.” Chelsea looked at John and then at the three huge plates in front of him and then back at John and then spontaneously laughed out loud and said, “You are crazy,” and went to bring him more gravy.  Well I knew there was no point in trying to talk to him while he ate and the look and smell of my Chicken Fried Steak was awesome…..and o’boy was it good.  It might have been one of the best I have ever had and judging by the sounds that John was making, he thought so too.  Chelsea would silently appear every time John would clear one of his plates or bowls of gravy and fill his drink and take the empties away and little by little the tabletop began to appear again.  Vaguely I was aware that people were staring at our table in awe of John’s capacity to put away food, but I was so used to it by now that it didn’t bother me.  I did get a nice laugh when a lady walked by and commented to me that John was a walking heart attack.  John was in the middle of his second steak and since his mouth was full I told her not to worry that he worked it off pretty good.  “Oh,” she said.  “So he gets a lot of exercise then?” I said, “No, he just talks a lot.” And I laughed at my own joke as she walked away shaking her head.  Funny how I am the only one laughing at my jokes…..maybe John is right.  Oh well, at least I entertain myself.  I saw John glaring at me, but I ignored him and finished up my plate of fried chilies.  I asked John how the hamburger tasted, and he gave me the thumbs up sign.  Soon he was done eating and Chelsea cleared his last plate away and filled our tea glasses.  John leaned back, took a deep breath, and said, “Brother Chris, that was awful good.  I think I feel a nap coming on.” I had to agree with him on the good, but I needed him to do some talking, and quick.  But before I could ask again he said, “I have to tell you something that happened a couple of weeks ago.  I attended one of those Workshops that your committee puts on every year all around the State.  One of the problems they talked about that day was about how Brothers dress in Lodge.  The main point of the problem was to show how a Lodge would go about making changes to its rules and regulations, but it used the example of setting a standard for dress in a Lodge to make that point.  The Brothers zeroed in on what a Brother could, or should wear to Lodge instead of the process of changing rules.  That Workshop was really good, but it was pretty long.  We had gotten to the last problem.  I could see how tired everyone was, and I was sure the Brothers there would just hurry through it to get done.  Boy, was I wrong!  The idea of mandating how a Brother should dress really got some of the guys a little riled.  Those that were the most upset were the ones that felt that, by our teachings, we should not be concerned about the external because it is what is on the inside that matters.  There was one Brother who felt that a Brother from his Lodge, who was a U.P.S. driver, and wears shorts as part of his company uniform should not be forced to change clothes just for Lodge.  Heck another couple of Brothers brought up the fact that there was a Lodge he knew that all the members wore bib overalls to Lodge meetings.  And there were others who were of the opinion that Masons should dress at least to some minimum standard in their Lodges ….and for sure when doing Masonic work in public.  Anyway the opinions were flying back and forth faster than gossip at a church social.” “John,” I interrupted sarcastically, rolling my eyes.  “You tell me all the time, that I am not a comedian …..well neither are you cause that gossip comment was not funny.” “Well that’s where you are wrong on two counts Brother Chris,” he snarled.  “First of all, I wasn’t even trying to be funny and secondly, now that I think about it….it was funny” And as I shook my head he continued, “I didn’t say anything at the time because I realized that I didn’t really know where I stood on the issue but now, after thinking about it, I definitely have some opinions myself.” And……………he paused.  And…………I waited……and waited.  You know how aggravating it is when someone gets you interested in a story and then stops in the middle?  I don’t know about you, but it makes me want to strangle them…….and because it was John there was even more incentive heh, heh.  It was as if he was in a trance.  I followed his gaze and predictably it was food that was distracting him…...specifically something very large and very chocolate.  I heard him mumble something about wanting one of those.  I finally had to wave my hand in front of him to bring him back to reality and his response was to sarcastically ask me why I was waving at him.  “Grrrrrrr,” I thought to myself……..”One of these days Alice…..one of these days.” He ignored me and said, “Where was I?  Oh yes I remember.  First, I think there is way too much drama at times in Masonry.  Masons are passionate about “their” Masonry and outspoken on their views on almost every topic.  But I think we sometimes get a little narrow minded and refuse to look beyond the obvious.  The statement in our work that “we are not to regard the external, but that it is the internal”…….. is not talking about only our clothing being the external.  In my opinion it is about much more.  It covers plenty of other “external” things.  Things like the type of house a man lives in or the kind of car he drives or how much money he makes, or how good of a job he has.  These are all external things we see every day, that we should not judge a man’s character by.  And the way I see it in my pea brain, when you compare a man’s clothing (external) to his character and spirit (internal) you are not comparing apples to apples.  I could be way off base Brother Chris, but it seems to me that the “external” refers somewhat to a man’s past…….past behavior, past attitude, past desires compared to the “internal”….. his recognizing his weaknesses, his faults, his unreasonable expectations.  And if you look at the internal vs the external in that way, the clothing is not at issue here.” “Wait a minute John,” I interrupted knowing it would irritate him.  “You can’t say that we should disregard a man’s past, because we surely look at his past when deciding whether a man should have an opportunity to be made a Mason.” “What I mean,” he replied in a whole lot nicer tone of voice than I expected, “is that if you are comparing a man's internal desires, emotions, feelings ..etc... to the way he dresses that it's not comparing apples to apples.  And that things in his past, (not counting heinous, or deviant issues) are external qualifications that can and may be disregarded if his heart and mind is right.  I mean every man who is looking to better himself has things in his past that he is not proud of and that he would like to change and those are the things that I am talking about.” I nodded at that and he continued.  “I watch people in all kinds of situations….in church, at social gatherings, at the grocery store, and restaurants…and I see certain people wearing the same thing no matter where they go.  A person who dresses sloppily, tends to dress that way no matter where they go….and it doesn’t seem to bother them.  Those who dress neatly also tend to dress that way wherever they go.  How people dress seems to have become less and less important over the years to the point that most believe that it doesn’t matter at all.  That thinking is evident in many of the Lodges that I visit.  Heck, if I went to a job interview dressed the way I have seen some Brothers dressed in a Lodge meeting, I would have no chance to get hired.  And I have to admit that I do have a problem with a Brother who attends Lodge in shorts and flip flops……and also his Lodge Brothers who allow that.  It tells me that going to Lodge is nothing special to him, that it’s nothing important to him, and just no big deal.  I kinda feel like if he wouldn’t wear that getup to his best friend’s wedding he shouldn’t be wearing it to Lodge.  But that’s just me.  I talked to a Brother who was a District Deputy Grand Master who I noticed always wears a coat and tie to Lodge meetings and I asked him why he was always dressed up.  He told me that because he was representing the Grand Lodge he felt it was appropriate to wear a coat and tie.  And another who happens to be an English Brother told me once that the standard of dress in a Lodge in England is strictly enforced and that even though he doesn’t have to wear his coat and tie here in America to Lodge that he would never even consider not wearing them. 

I think that the way we dress and especially what we wear makes a statement…..and not only a statement about us personally, but a statement about our Fraternity.  You can’t proudly display the Square and Compasses on your car and then by your actions, not convey a statement.  And you can’t wear the emblems of our Fraternity on your person and then wear shorts and flip-flops to a Lodge meeting without also conveying a meaning or a statement.  And I don’t think that that meaning or statement is the one you want to convey.  If I was a non-Mason and I saw men going into a Masonic Lodge dressed in shorts and flip flops or in raggedy clothes, it would be real hard for me to believe that there were things going on within the walls of that Lodge that was “making good men better”.  I also believe that just like there are Lodges and Brothers who are content with only the social aspect of our Fraternity, there are others who are committed to the search for deeper knowledge…..for Masonic Education….for Masonic Light.  And I believe that all Lodges have the ability to create their own personality and their own Lodge identity.  I believe also if Lodges can make the decision to allow anyone to wear anything they want to their Lodge then all Lodges should also have the right to create a minimum standard of dress in their Lodge and enforce it completely and if a Brother disagrees with that standard he can find a Lodge that allows him to wear whatever he wants.  Lodges live and die by their decisions.  Life is about choices and we all have to make choices every day.  As much as I hate to wear a coat and tie myself, I will always wear one to Lodge Meetings because being a Mason is special to me.  Attending Lodge is special to me.  My Brothers are special to me and being a part of the Masonic experience is special to me.  Therefore I dress in a way and present myself in Lodge in a way that makes a statement that shows how special all of this is for me.” His Chocolate Mountain arrived and luckily he was done talking because he ignored me and attacked that dessert.  Heck I never saw him order it in the first place.  I watched him eat as I thought about what he had said.  The more I thought about it the more I realized that there was no reason why I shouldn’t be wearing a coat and tie to Lodge or at the very least slacks and a nice button-down shirt.  And the excuse that I can’t change because I come straight from work is not a valid one…..but just a planning issue.  I agreed with all he had said and certainly the Lodge and Masonry ranked as high on the “special meter” for me as it seemed like it did for John.  Heck I really hated to wear what my Dad used to call “a monkey suit” but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that for all the reasons John had expressed that it was not only a good thing to do but probably the right thing to do to portray Masonry in as positive and wholesome a light as possible. I looked up and realized that he was watching me.  “Gotcha thinking, didn’t I,” he said with a grin?  “Yes you did,” I replied still deep in thought.  That’s one of the many things about Masonry that I love, those moments when something seems to just fall into place.  Still grinning he stuck his big paw across the table and said, “As always Brother Chris, it’s been fun and I could talk all afternoon but some of us have to work for a living.” I took his hand and felt the comfort of that special grip and then watched as he disappeared out the door.  And even though I had just got stuck with another John Deacon lunch bill, I sat there for several minutes just enjoying that feeling that all was well…….or that with all of us working together it can be.