Non Article Blog

Happy Thanksgiving…Normally I would have an article from the newsletter I put out for the Lee County Shrine Club. This month I opted to forgo the writing and simply put a series of pictures of our annual magic show. It was a busy day, but truthfully it was a lot of fun. I couldn’t walk the next day. My legs give out much easier now and my right ankle was really frozen and painful. So all I was really able to do Sunday work on the newsletter. I did include a public relations article on Shrine membership. I honestly try to keep this newsletter fresh for the readers. After almost ten years of producing a monthly newsletter that can be a challenge sometimes. I try to add various elements that will keep people interested in reading it. I find that more women read it quicker than the men. I get more feedback from the women.

The ladies involved in the Shriners are just as important and productive as the men. It’s a shame we (the men) haven’t found a way to “officially” add them as members. Freemasonry being the base for membership prohibits women from joining. Not that I am advocating changing one of the base landmarks in Freemasonry; but, after more than a hundred years plus the public aspect of Shriners International, we should have found a way to make the women’s role more official, at least on the club level.

We do have some movement in the Shriners big picture, a couple of new web sites, www.shrinersvillage.com and www.beashrinernow.com. The first is for Shriners and requires membership to enter and the second is a public promotional website. Being a Shriner is a position of service. http://shrinershq.org/

This year’s magic show included a child identification program; the MSCHIP program sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Mississippi. This is a good program and the odds are we are going be responsible for the recovery of a missing/abducted child.

Our magician was from Madison, MS, Dorian LaChance. He was very good, entertaining and energetic; both the kids and adults enjoyed his show. Our timing was off with the addition of the child ID program. Originally we didn’t need a break between shows, I guess we do now. I think our error was that our original magician didn’t put on as long or as good of a show. Next year we will adjust. The last show started an hour late, but it was because we had fifteen boys from the Tupelo Children’s Mansion show up for the noon show and it took awhile to process them all through the ID program. Only one lady got mad and we were able to serve the waiting audience food before the show instead of after.

The delay didn’t faze Dorian; he put on the third show with just as much energy and excitement as the previous two. He put on a show that made the crowd forget the waiting time. I enjoy dealing with someone with a good work ethic. Those boys from the children’s mansion stayed after the show and helped stack the chairs. It all worked out fine. One thing I noticed about this magician, he had the timing required to obtain the predictive response from the kids in the audience. This skill allowed all the kids in the audience to feel involved in the show and he did without being too unoriginal. I saw even the shy, introverted kids open up and get involved.

Even though my legs were hurting, I was able to go home in a good mood about the show, plus I got to see some cool magic tricks. www.magicbydorian.com
www.mansionkids.org

Today is a day for family and friends. Christy has to work part of the day, retail. Holidays used to be about the holiday and celebrating; now it is about increasing sales. Everything is on sale plus stores expect increased profits. Makes you wonder about the actual value of the product in the first place. What is the cliché? You can go broke saving money.

Have a happy holiday and drive safe.

Newsletter Mode....

Newsletter Mode is code for "I'm Writing, I'm creating, so DO NOT be surprised if I seem insane, rude, frazzled or even crazier than normal.

Taking something from a blank page to a finished product is a labor of love. I can get snappy if I am disturbed during this process....Christy fully understands now and doesn't get offended when my answer to her "What ya doing?" query is, "I'm Writing." This newsletter has several elements that require balance and tweaking into the size and format I need. Yesterday, I took an article about my Cincinnati trip out of my head and wrote it down. One of the challenges was to get the entire article on one legal size page. The font size matters and getting the photograph(s) to fit in just so can take a lot of patience....

I send out several copies of this newsletter all over and sometimes as I am sticking the mailing labels on and bundling it for bulk mail I wonder if certain people actually read the thing. I have had several people tell me they enjoy it, but it isn't a pat on the back I am looking for. I want to know if they are impacted by my words. Are they getting the message? Many times I am tempted to include something totally off the wall just to get a reaction, but when I got distracted several years ago while laying out the calendar and placed Christmas on the wrong day, only one called me about it. Some said they never noticed. I guess it is like any publication, some read all of it, some part and some never find the time. People do what they want to do and their interest belongs to what ever truly interests them.

When I get in "Newsletter Mode" all I think about is the newsletter with the various elements and layout. I have a deadline for mailing it which means I have to have it written, proofread, printed, folded, labeled and bundled for bulk mail. Now bulk mail has to be folded a particular way with the proper labeling components. Many times I face writer's block and procrastinate getting it done until it will flow on the pages. Driving away from the post office the afternoon it is mailed includes a sigh of relief and a realization I now have to start thinking about the next month's issue....Putting together a monthly newsletter includes lots of pacing, loss of sleep, small self-rewards for items completed and proof-reading, re-reading, reading out-loud to myself, and zoning out.....

Being it is a Shrine Club newsletter the focus is limited somewhat, even though after I include the meeting notice and calendar, I basically have free reign. Normally I have steadfastly refused to allow anyone to pre-approve my work. This year I have allowed that more than ever. I allowed the PR lady see my article about the Cincinnati Hospital for fact checking, she did and corrected the number of volunteers I had listed and said she liked the article. I have allowed this year's Shrine Club President see articles before publication more than any before, basically because he can check the accuracy of the item and doesn't tell me how to write. (I must be slipping, letting people approve of my work.)

Sometimes I feel like I am just being a "Rah-Rah" cheerleader for the Shrine. I want people to get involved, but on their terms and really want to participate. I can't transform them into that wheelchair, walker, braces or even burn garment. Getting people to fully understand why we do what we really do is hard and confusing. Shriners are one organization divided into two sections, the fraternal and the philanthropy. Getting our own members to understand that is a chore all in itself. We don't live close to a Shriners Hospital, so many of our members don't get to see our true cause. Like any organization, club or group there are internal politics and dynamics which further complicates matters and the chief cause of our loss of membership. Humans are human, but that is another blog post.

Now to get back to creating another newsletter, I still need program, meal and transportation information...I'll wrangle it out of them...Plus I have to travel to Meridian today for a Hamasa meeting. As previously stated, or at least thought, I plan on posting my feature articles I write for my newsletter into the blog, you never know.

Until then, stay well and be kind...