Hello, again my Brothers and friends! As most Masons know we love to refer to ourselves as Traveling Men. But do you travel? Have you really taken advantage of how and what traveling means in our prestigious fraternity?

I for one have on many occasions have been extremely lucky to travel far and wide. I have met brothers from many states and countries all over the world. I would like to tell you about one of those adventures that my father and I stumbled upon. It all starts in the unforgettable city of Taormina Sicily. First, let me state that whenever I travel I open up the list of lodges that are recognized by the Grand Lodge of New York and start my planning process.

Once I find a few lodges or if I am lucky a Grand Lodge I start to set up when I can stop by and meet new brothers. On my first visit to Italy, I started in northern Italy in the city of Milan and worked my way down to Sicily where my dad was already checked in to a hotel built on the side of a mountain in Taormina. In every town from the top of Italy to the bottom I struck out and only got to take a picture of myself in front of a locked door at every lodge I tried to visit. To my surprise when I was checking in to the hotel my dad comes running out to me and starts to tell me about his check-in experience. Now keep in mind that my father had already been to this hotel about 10 times. However, this check-in was much different from those other visits.

On the cliffs of Taormina, there is not a lot of parking and most hotels have only a few parking spots for drop off and pick up. This particular hotel was no different, it only had 5 spaces for the entire 40 or so rooms. As my father was parking, the doorman told him he could drop off his luggage, but he had to then drop the car in the municipal parking lot about ¼ mile from the hotel. As he was checking in the manager saw his Masonic ring that I bought him as a gift when I had the honor of raising him to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. He then showed my father his ring and told him that the owner of the hotel was the secretary of their Lodge and they needed to be formally introduced. But before he got to that introduction, he went outside moved a chain, and told my father that this was his parking space for the 10 days that we would be there. The courtesy did not stop there.

Once I met the owner and introduced myself to him we were treated like long-lost family members. I started to ask Nello (the owner of this amazing boutique hotel), where and how far away was his lodge. I then told him how I was disappointed in not being able to visit any of the Lodges on the mainland of Italy. He laughed and told me he would be calling a special meeting so we could meet all the brothers of his Lodge and it would not be a long drive. This was because the Lodge was in the basement of the hotel. We have been back there three more times and this would never have happened if my father did not wear his Masonic light on his hand. Now due to Facebook and email, I have been able to keep in touch with many friends and brothers in Sicily. My father and I have had the pleasure of seeing the ritual in Italian, and on our last meeting, we were presented with a medallion from their lodge which we both proudly display in our homes.

The point here my brothers is without being a member of the oldest, largest, and most exclusive fraternity the world has ever known, we would never have been treated to such hospitality. Now just to be clear I did not join this fraternity to receive gifts or special treatment around the world, but it was a very impressive side effect of becoming a member. I look forward to sharing more stories of my traveling with you soon and if any brother would like more info or tips on how to travel North, South, West, and East, I would be glad to help.

The only thing I ask is that you wear your Masonic light as much as possible in the world outside of Lodge and if you have a great story please share your story with me when you can.

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