SUMMERFALL 2015 2015 From the Grand East MW WILLIAM J. THOMAS Grand Master
[email protected] 407-927-8400 Masonic Families Rededication Breakfast What Would George Washington Do? Marina del Rey Catering, March 8, 2015 As a teenager, I grew fond of reading the histories of famous Richard Brookhiser, in his book on Washington, wrote that people, especially our country’s founders and earliest leaders. “all modern manners in the western world were originally DeWitt Clinton was among them and another was George aristocratic. Courtesy meant behavior appropriate to a court; Washington. Even today, I see the value of studying our past chivalry comes from chevalier – a knight. Yet Washington was as a guide for our future. We learn from past mistakes and to dedicate himself to freeing America from a court’s control. benefit from our past successes. Could manners survive? February 22, 1732 was the birthday of President and Brother Without realizing it, Washington was outlining and George Washington. His home in Mt. Vernon, Virginia is a absorbing a system of courtesy appropriate to all mankind. testament to his leadership, in both our Country and in our When the company for whom the decent behavior was to be personal lives. performed expanded to the nation, Washington was ready. When George was sixteen years of age, he was given a writing Parson Weems got it right, when he wrote about Washington exercise and he wrote his 101 Rules of Civility. Here are a few, that, it was ‘no wonder everybody honored him, who honored and I read them in the language and phraseology of that era: everybody.’” • Every action done in Company ought to be with Some Civility in our daily lives is not just something that is nice to Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.