1. ... And a Happy New Year 6008 A.L.... And a Happy New Year 6008 A.L. Brethren from Lodge #25 “George Weifert” Music from Mozarta: Magic Flute: “Queen of the Night’s Aria (M. Weimer) K.468 “Gesellenreise” Lyrics from Franz Ratschkey about the Great Travel; This Xmas, I would like to put up a tree in my heart, and instead of hanging presents, I would like to put the names of all my Brethren. Close Brethren and not so close Brethren. The old Brethren the new Brethren. Those that I see every day and the ones that I rarely see. The ones that I always remember and the ones that I sometimes forget. The ones that are always there and the ones that seldom are. The Brethren of difficult times and the ones of happy times. Brethren who, without meaning to, I have hurt, or, without meaning to have hurt me. Those that I know well and those I only know by name. Those that owe me little and those that I owe so much. My humble Brethren and my important Brethren. The names of all those that have passed through my life no matter how fleetingly. A tree with very deep roots and very long and strong branches so that their names may never be plucked from my heart. So that new names from all over may join the existing ones. A tree with a very pleasant shade so that our Brotherhood may take a moment of rest from the battles of life. “May the happy moments of Xmas Brighten every day of the new year”. These are our sincere wishes. Merry Xmas Merry Xmas But, there are some more we have to think about... But, there are some more we have to think about... Click PageDown to continue...

2. I'm the guy who asked who asked to join your organization. I'm the Brother who paid his dues to join. I'm the Brother who stood up in front of all of you and promised to be faithful and loyal. I'm the Brother who came to your meetings and no one paid any attention to. I tried several times to be friendly to some of the Brethren, but they all had their own buddies they talk to and sat next to. I sat down several times but no one paid any attention to me. I hoped very much that somebody would have asked me to take part in a fund raising project or something, but no one saw my efforts when I volunteered. I missed a few meetings after joining because I was sick and couldn't be there. No one asked me at the next meeting where I had been. I guess it didn't matter very much to the others whether I was there or not. The next meeting I decided to stay home and watch TV. The following meeting I attended, no one asked me where I was when the last meeting was held. You might say I'm a good Brother, a good family man who holds a responsible job, loves his community, and his country. You know who else I am? I'm the Brother who never came back! It amuses me when I think back on how Officers of Lodge and the members of Brotherhood were discussing why the organization was losing members. It amuses me now to think that they spent so much time looking for new members when I was there all the time. All they needed to do was make me feel needed, wanted and welcome! Author Unknown Brother. Muzika Mozarta: Mozart - Sonate Voor Piano In A Maj Kv331 (Turkse Mars) Yours Bro N. O. W. Master Lodge # 25 “George Weifert”