North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/591483
September/October 2015 The North Carolina Mason Page 15
Royal
White
Hart 2
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So, a lady goes to her doctor and gets
examined. After he delivers the diagno-
sis and provides his recommendations,
she says, "I'd like a second opinion." He
says, "OK – you're ugly, too."
Second opinions are a good thing,
for a couple of reasons. First, we should
remember that doctors are like everyone
else: they're human, and they can make
mistakes. Diagnosis is the most difficult
part of health care. In most situations,
once we can figure out what's wrong,
then we can do something about it. But,
if the diagnosis is not correct, well, it's
kind of difficult to get better if you're
being treated for the wrong illness —
and there is no single person who has
all the answers. Second, and I hate to
say this, but there are too many practi-
tioners today who are more interested
in looking after their bank accounts
than in caring for their patients.
Over the last several decades, busi-
ness has been injected into the profes-
sions in such a manner that there are
now practitioners who are more inter-
ested in how much money they can
make rather than how well they can
care for their patients. e vast major-
ity of health care practitioners are hon-
est, hardworking people of integrity
who entered their profession in hopes
of tending to the needs of others, and
doing something good for those with
whom they have an opportunity to
work. Should you encounter one whose
goals you suspect to be something dif-
ferent, or if you just need reassurance,
don't hesitate – get a second opinion!
Past Grand Master William B. Brunk
is a member of Hiram 40.
From the Medical Committee
Second opinions
By William B. Brunk
HALIFAX — Royal White Hart 2 is
the second oldest lodge in North Carolina.
It was the home lodge of William R. Davie
(Father of the University of North Carolina)
and Joseph Montfort (only Provincial Grand
Master of America).
ey still meet in the building they built
in about 1819. Many of the artifacts of the
lodge are still preserved. e master's chair
seen here at right is preserved and on display
at the Grand Lodge headquarters in Raleigh.
An English floor cloth, given the lodge by
Montfort in 1772, still hangs in the lodge.
A floor cloth is an instructional tool for the
degrees, the slide show of the 18
th
century.
Harry W. Gowen took this photo in 1907.
Dr. Edward Jenner, in 1789 discov-
ered the vaccination process against
smallpox. He was master of Faith and
Friendship Lodge #270 in Berkeley,
England at the time.
A drenching rainstorm hovered
over South Carolina for much of the
first week of October, pouring up to
two feet of water onto some sections of
the state. Rivers overflowed, dams were
breached, roadways were flooded, and
homes and businesses were inundated
with water, causing severe damage, if
not complete destruction.
e storm, described by a meteo-
rologist as "unprecedented and his-
toric," qualifies as a 1,000-year event.
Officials said damage would exceed bil-
lions of dollars across the state, with the
state capital in Columbia and historic
Charleston being among the hard-
est hit. Recovery is expected to take
months, if not longer.
At least one lodge building has been
virtually destroyed. Other lodges, plus
the homes of many Masonic brothers,
have been seriously damaged, and the toll
to life and property is still being assessed.
MSA has established a Disaster
Relief Fund for South Carolina, with
all donations that are received to be
transferred directly to the Grand
Lodge of South Carolina for distribu-
tion to those in need.
Please forward to the MSA dona-
tions to help our devastated Brothers,
their families, and others in this strick-
en jurisdiction. Please make checks
payable to MSA Disaster Relief Fund
and send to: Masonic Service Associa-
tion, 3905 National Drive, Suite 280,
Burtonsville, MD 20866. When remit-
ting funds to the MSA in response to
this appeal, please mark checks, "South
Carolina Appeal."
Also, donations may be made on
MSA's webpage,