North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1475818
about being on rescue ops, so to put it from a very different perspective, I added, "I was in a bad auto accident in Stanley County." One of the brothers looked at me twice, and asked, "When?" I replied, "June 7, 2019." He asked, "Where?" I looked at him and his face seemed a bit more familiar, and I responded, "A couple miles east of the river on Highway 24." He asked, "What were you driving?" And by then, we both began to realize…I responded, "A 2016 gold Lincoln MKC." And he with eyes wide open in disbelief responded, "…and the car that hit you was a black SUV!" By then we both were freaking out and I exclaimed, By then finally recognized each other and we both were freaking out with tears of joy in our eyes. We shook hands and hugged and held each other like loving brothers who had made an incredible personal discovery. Later that night, after speaking to the gathering about how brethren had aided and supported me during my recovery, I was able to tell of the incredible serendipitous chance – some say providential – meeting between us that evening and acknowledge Greg Harwood, my Brother that literally saved my life. Two nights later, I was delighted to see Brother Greg at Sophia Lodge's Master Mason degree in Salisbury. The pro-tem Master, Grand Master Larry Thompson, acknowledged the incredible meeting between Greg and me at his Grand Master's Dinner, and the Senior Warden, Worshipful Brother Ken Wical, on behalf of Sophia Lodge expressed their gratitude and presented him with a box of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina Cigars. That too was another incredible experience I will never forget. You see, life can change forever in the snap of a finger, when you least expect it. It can happen to any one of us and will happen to most all of us. Difficult times tend to bring the most valuable lessons and cut away the superfluous. You never can really know the effect of the good you do, sometimes it only nourishes your soul, most times it nourishes others in ways you will never see. The key to light is love, created by God, and expressed in the many ways you can and how you can. What love you give comes back multiplied and it is the light we most desire. That, my brothers, is what Masonry is about… God Bless the brethren of North Carolina and God bless the Craft. "Oh my Lord, no way you were there!" He said, "I was, I just recognized you, I was on the rescue squad that responded to your accident!" And I said, "And you were the one that tore off my door!" SUMMER 2 0 2 2 | 17