Speculative Premasonry

As my first degree approaches, I'm becoming increasingly self-conscious of the fact that everything I've written, other than the few descriptions of first-hand experiences during my petitioning and investigation, is purely speculative... it's informed by other Masons' accounts of their own experiences, but ultimately I won't know what Freemasonry in my Lodge will be like until Thursday night and beyond.

I've also been contacted by several Massachusetts Brethren who have come across this weblog, and suddenly I'm beginning to feel a bit duplicitous... early on I decided to keep writing pseudo-anonymously because I didn't want to ruffle any feathers by naming names or lodges. However, by the same token I don't want my decision to remain anonymous to be a cause for gossip or raised eyebrows in my lodge if word gets around once I become an active member.

I think I am probably being hypersensitive; the only critical thing I have really written about my lodge was my initial reaction to our web site, and how my initial e-mail bounced. (And as it turned out, my e-mail did get through despite the error message I received.) I will raise the question with the Worshipful Master at some point after I am inducted; one of the first things I'm going to try and do is get the ball rolling on a new web site for my lodge, and questions about what's "fit to print" will definitely be a part of that discussion.