The North Carolina Mason

May/June 2016 The North Carolina Mason Page 5 Building a Stronger Foundation Locking the smokehouse By Bryant D. Webster Grand Master "When a new man comes to town and starts telling you how good he is, lock your smokehouse." is sage advice was given by a wise counselor, now departed. We've all ex- perienced this. We are all aware of persons in our communities who are not who they say they are. Sometimes it is benign: they are just puffing up their credentials, or they are "more hat than cow- boy." Other times, it is malignant, and they are true predators who often focus on our elderly, our wid- ows, and the more vulnerable members of our soci- ety. Particularly as to the predators, let us all accept the call to "lock the smokehouse." When we knelt at the altar of Freemasonry, mul- tiple times, we committed ourselves to be our broth- ers' keepers. is is a non-delegable, non-optional duty. We promised, we are obligated in every sense of the word, to do our part to protect one another and our families. is is not only the right thing to do; if we do it consistently, it will increase the value of our membership to our members. Perhaps more importantly, it will make our communities better places for us all to live. While there are physical dangers out there, for purposes of this discussion, I'm focused more on the intellectual, financial, and emotional predation visit- ed on our seniors in particular. ese threats come in the form of Internet scams, phone scams, financial scams, home repair scams, etc. Predators seek out the vulnerable elderly and give them a strong come- on or pitch, which seems legitimate. If the victim bites, usually at a low price-point, then the predator tries again and again, at successively larger financial stakes. Often, our seniors will realize they've been had, and they will be embarrassed and try to hide the situation from their family, for fear of the fam- ily thinking they are beginning to slip, and taking some of their freedom away. is leads to a cycle of getting in deeper and deeper with the predator, with disastrous financial consequences. What can we do? 1. Check on our brothers and particularly their widows. Make sure they have what they need, so that they are not tempted to deal with predators of- fering a slick service. 2. Talk to our brothers and widows regularly so that you know their situations, and you will notice when there is some change in circumstances. Pay at- tention to patterns. 3. Make sure your brothers and your lodge sec- retary know of skills you may have that could help your brothers and their families, whether this is being a plumber, or an electrician, or a lawyer, or an accountant, or just a handy guy who can bal- ance a checkbook, or change a light bulb, or clean out a gutter. ere is no limit to the ways we can serve one another. Sometimes the simplest act can have the greatest impact. Consider the following true story: A business owner who was a Mason had an an- nual practice of sending pound cakes to his cus- tomers as Christmas gifts. His vendor from prior years was suddenly unavailable, and the holiday season was looming. is Mason knew that an el- derly brother was in the nursing home and his wife, who was a very good baker, was still living at home, and was having health and financial struggles of her own. e Mason reached out to the brother's wife and asked whether she would be interested in baking the Christmas pound cakes. is was not a small undertaking — producing 85-100 cakes in a period of five-to-ten days. Ensuring that the wife's health was not compromised was important, and paying her market price for the service was the plan. e wife readily agreed, baked the cakes, they were delivered to the delight of the business owner and his customers, and the baker was duly paid an amount equal to what the commercial vendor had been previously charging. is could be the end of the story, and it would be a satisfactory example of looking after our own and choosing to care for one another in a way that harms no one and benefits all, but there is more to the story. After all the cakes were delivered and the check paid, the baker invited the Mason to her home to pick up another cake as a Christmas gift and thank you to him. When he visited, she began to tell him a story. is brother's wife had received her property tax bill in the fall. With her health issues, her husband in a nursing home, and all the usual expenses, money was tight, and she had no idea how she would pay the property taxes on the house, setting her up to lose it in a tax foreclosure. She was at the breaking point. In her dilemma, she prayed for some solution. e very night she prayed in desperation was the night that the Mason called and offered her the opportunity to bake the cakes. ey never discussed the price for baking the cakes; the Mason always planned to pay an amount equal to what he had paid his professional vendor, thinking that with lower overhead, this would be more than fair to the brother's wife. When the check was delivered, it happened to be just enough to cover the property taxes and all costs of baking the cakes, plus just a little extra. e baker was in tears as she thanked the Mason for being the answer to her prayer. e Mason was moved to tears in having accidentally been the in- strument of the blessing. Neither party doubted the involvement of the Great Architect of the Universe in structuring the transaction. I'm sure that every person reading this article could tell many similar stories. As shown above, it does not have to mean sacrificing anything; it can be a mutually beneficial arrangement. If it does require sacrifice, it is our duty to meet the call. is goes the other way too. If you are a brother in need, please reach out and let us know. We are not mind readers. We all know that Masons are a fiercely proud and independent bunch. We don't want to impinge on your privacy or your indepen- dence, so it will help us help you if you let us know where the needs exist. We must work together to build a strong foundation of interdependence and fraternal attention to one another. It is our obligation to build a strong foundation, and to create a culture of fraternal interdependence; these generous principles extend further. Every hu- man being has a claim upon your kind offices. We must look after our own, and we must look after all of those around us who need us. By doing this regularly, consistently, and without failing, we will be recognized as "the go-to guys" in the community to meet the needs that exist. is will strengthen us in so many ways. By simply meeting our obligations on a daily basis, we will together build a stronger foun- dation. Our brothers, our families, and our commu- nities will thank you for locking the smokehouse. meeting our obligations on a daily basis, we will together build a stronger foundation

• Cover