When I was a kid, I was presented with the mystery of fraternal organizations, particularly Freemasons. A boy I sometimes played with would leave with his father on the same day, every week, so he could attend DeMolay. What is it? I would ask him.

"It's nothing really, we just talk about the Creator and America and stuff like that. It's something just for the kids of Masons, so they can prepare to become Masons when they are older." Hmmm?

Now my parents weren't churchgoers, and they didn't belong to any "clubs" of any sort, so I was mystified. I eventually asked my father about this situation, and he became very solemn, yet agitated in some inexplicable way.

"Don't trust them and don't ever join them, they only like their own kind and YOU are not their 'Kind!'"

He told me that "they" were a secretive fraternity, with a heavy emphasis on Christianity, secretive handshakes and symbols, and a borderline white supremist ideology. He repeatedly warned me to never join them and that if I did, I would at best be a token member, a "Tony" (derogatory term for a person of Italian heritage that will try anything to fit in; akin to "Uncle Tom" for Afro-Americans).

He then explained how he had been invited to be "sponsored" by an existing member (as this is the only way to join) when he was in his thirties, a union shop steward in the toolroom where he worked at General Motors. Dad attended a few of their introductory get-togethers and came away with the feelings he had expressed to me.

He insisted that his rebuff of them is why he never was able to move up in the union. Somehow, I think he was relieved - my old man has pretty strong opinions on society, politics, "conspiracy theories" (he cooks his own) and what Rod refers to as, "The Evil Empire" - he also is not very personable.

I eventually stopped hanging out with that kid and so the issue pretty much drifted off.

Ed Cantarella

"Boomer" decided that some changes to the building could better accommodate his wife, who has a bad back, and so I, being a building trustee for the church, agreed to make the changes, for material costs only. "Boomer" was so pleased with the results, he started calling me, offering to take me out to lunch. I eventually agreed (against my personal feelings about the guy's gregariousness) and met up with him at a local restaurant.

Within a few minutes, he was asking me if I had ever considered joining the Masons . "Weee-el-ll-l, actually, I have heard some negative things about the Masons, that they don't really care for Italians, Mexicans, blacks - basically anyone who isn't "white-white"."

"Oh shucks, that used to be true among some of our members, but we have opened up a lot in recent years, we have all sorts of people. You know, a young fellow like you could make some good business contacts with the Masons."

Somehow he didn't seem to understand that I work in a law office (paralegal/IT guy) and business contacts were not going to help or inspire me to join a fraternity (plus the concept smacks of connivance in my mind). "Well, I'll think about it".

"OK!"

So we ate and we chatted about the weather and the Detroit Tigers and he had some general legal questions for me (no free lunch.)

A mixed-race couple came in and took a table across the restaurant.

"Will you look at that" he whispered, "God Damn, I hate that shit!"

Oh no, I thought, this guy has me pegged all wrong; I'd dated black women, once almost marrying one.

But "Boomer" wasn't done, "You know, at church last week, they had that little white girl and that 'colored' girl singing up there together? I can't stand that! Her parents are going to regret that, she'll probably end up like that white trash over there".

Not knowing how to respond to this "revelation", I checked the time and then begged my way out of continuing our visit on the excuse that my boss was a real stickler regarding time.

"Hey, get back with me on joining the Masons, Ed. I'd be happy to sponsor you, show you the ropes."

"Sure man, sure."

I really don't know if Boomer's attitudes are common among Masons.

In fact, I don't know if there is anything sinister about them at all. Maybe it was just a bad experience, maybe he is just a "bad apple" that spoiled me on the idea of considering the membership offer. A very informative site, Difficult Questions about Freemasonry answers a lot of questions. It outlines their basic "theology", that must be accepted for membership: "There is a Supreme Being, Who created the Universe, Who has established and revealed a moral law, And to Whom we must give account, in a life after this."

Gee, none of that goes against my religious beliefs. From the other links at that site, the Masons seem to have members in almost every country, and in every language.

Here is a quote from the aforementioned site, on the question of whom to believe, the Masons or the anti-Masons:

"...its major players include a vast number of contributors to society--men such as Washington, Truman, and Churchill in politics, Goethe, Schiller, and Conan Doyle in literature, Burl Ives, Ernest Borgnine, Gene Autry in the performing arts, Mozart, Haydn, and Irving Berlin in music, and on and on. Freemasons played essential roles in the civilization of the New World, taming the west (Kit Carson was a Freemason), freeing Latin America (Bolivar was a Mason, as was Bernardo O'Higgins), and so on. Freemasons have established a vast array of charitable activities, primarily focussing on the health field, such as the famous Shriners' Children's Hospitals for treatment of orthopedic problems and burns, the Scottish Rite speech disorder clinics, the Masonic cancer centers, the Tall Cedars' activities for muscular dystrophy, and many others. Not to mention homes for the aged and even dormitory accomodations at the University of Texas. Among the anti-Masons, one can count a single president of the US, John Quincy Adams (thirteen presidents were Masons), two literary figures (Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens--and it is not clear whether Dickens was really an anti-Mason, or one who simply felt that the Masons of his time were not living up to their standards and were therefore hypocrites), and almost no one else of any consequence in history or who has made a significant contribution to the humanities. The anti-Masons operate no charitable groups but engage in fund-raising only to support themselves: They sell books for profit, seek donations to keep their "ministries" operating on television, and contribute nothing to society at large.

All of this is a matter of public record; these facts do not depend on one's ability to determine who is telling the truth. Further, we have the experience of history to teach us what to believe of a group of "anti-" somethings, whether they are anti-Semites, anti-Catholics, or anti-Masons. That historical experience has shown that those who single out a group, especially one different from the majority in society, for opprobrium and hatred are generally not telling the truth about that group, but are seeking to benefit themselves from stirring up the passions of the mob."

Considering that the little white girl was my oldest daughter, and the little 'colored' girl was her best friend, Zakiya, I left that meal burning, thinking : " Dad was right: the Masons are a bunch of jerks."

Then again, my Dad probably learned that thinking from Gramps, the man who only wanted to be known for being,"an American citizen", rejecting all fraternization, even with his countrymen.

After doing a little research into the Masons, I would probably give them another chance; but, being sponsored by "Boomer" is out of the question. No matter how good of company he keeps.