Greetings, comrades!

A mid-weekend blog for you all to ponder.


It was 17 degrees here in Waltham when I left my house this morning. I was off volunteering at the HELP program in Woburn.

Hmmm....of course it's an acronym: Hospital Equipment Loan Program.

This is the best and most important thing the Massachusetts Fourth District of Masons does. Each and every Saturday, rain or shine, a handful of Masonic volunteers is out at our warehouse, organizing equipment and helping out those in need.

Anyone can come and borrow our stuff. You don't need to be a Mason. It's all free of charge. All we ask is that when you no longer have a need, return the equipment in the same as or better condition so someone else can make use of it.

Durable Medical Equipment is usually very expensive. Most insurance companies make you leap through the Five Fire Rings of Fornax in order to get equipment covered - and then usually with massive copays and deductibles. I presume that speaks more to the poor quality of the price-gouging, for-profit vultures that pass for healthcare providers in this country, but I digress.

I've been out there a handful of times, and never has there not been a line of cars waiting to see if we could help them out. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can't. Being a loan program, we're always at the mercy of what is in our warehouse.

Curiously today - there was a run on knee scooters. Everybody seemed to need one, but we only had three to send out this morning.

In any case - "Duty to Others" is more than just Scouting. Whether or not you believe any of the Illuminati conspiracy theories, the fact remains that Freemasons are out there every week, working for the betterment of the community.

I eagerly await a megachurch, or even the Roman Catholic Church, to start a similar program so we can see their charitable works in action.