Get a C.L.U.E.: Part VIII - What happened to "Dad" Boddy?

As PA DeMolay prepares for the upcoming C.L.U.E. Spring Leadership Weekend, to be held May 2-4, 2014, at Patton Campus, we thought it time to fill you in on a little more backstory about the event.

“Dad” Boddy is missing!

It has been 2 weeks since “Dad” Boddy, Chapter Advisor of Preposterous Chapter in Unlikely, PA has been seen. He has missed his Chapter Meetings,  missed the Advisory Council Meeting, and he has not attended his knitting circle meetings, which he would NEVER miss, if he was able to get to them.

“Dad” Boddy has served as the Chapter Advisor of his Chapter for the last 10 years. Most of the time, he described his job as “Ring Master;" not because of the kids - they were great, and the reason he stayed so long. No, when he had problems, it was from his fellow Advisors. Did one of them finally snap and do “Dad’ Boddy a mischief? Lets look at the rogues…uh Advisors... that make up the Council:

“Dad” “The Colonel” Mustard - serves as Chairman of Preposterous Chapter and is known for his people skills, which are mostly awful. British Born and Military trained, he moved to the United States with the blessing (some say at the command) of the Queen. He and “Dad” Boddy had served together in the war…but “Dad” Boddy was born in America…Is “Dad” Mustard lying? Or is he just an idiot?

“Mom” Peacock - The Awards Advisor - She has lots of money…but money doesn’t buy everything, Mrs Peacock says it can sure rent it. One of the few people who would dare say “NO” to her was “Dad” Boddy. Did he de-rail one of her schemes, one too many times? Did he use his salad fork for his fruit cup? Is she capable of getting rid of the Boddy? Or is she just a bunch of feathers?

“Dad” “Professor” Plum - The Youth Protection Advisor - He is well travelled, educated and a ceaseless irritant to all who know him. He always likes to be the most knowledgeable on any topic, but “Dad’ Boddy always got in the last word when it came to the Chapter. Did the Professor check out a volume of" How to Win Friends and Influence People" and read it backwards? Is he capable of high crimes and misdemeanors? Can he spell high crimes and misdemeanors?

“Mom” Scarlet - Advisory Council Secretary - She has files…lots of files…on everything and everyone! Never one to pass up a juicy secret, on more than one occasion, “Dad’ Boddy told her to mind her own business. Did she make it her business to give “Dad’ Boddy the business?
Did she find out something that could make him disappear? Is red really her natural color?

“Dad” Green - Assistant Chapter Advisor - He has been in “Dad” Boddy’s shadow ever since he was a child. Did he take matters into his own hands and clear “Dad” Boddy out of his way? He always thought “Dad” Boddy was out to get him but did he get to “Dad’ Boddy first? was it the Green Monster of jealously that made Mr. Green see red? Wouldn’t that make him purple? Have you had enough of color based jokes?

“Mom” White - Advisory Council Treasurer- She likes Cats, she has 11 of them and they aren't cheap to keep. Rumor has it that the Chapter has invested in a lot Fancy Feast lately and it wasn't for the members. Also, "Dad” Boddy told her she can’t bring her cats to Chapter Meetings. Was that enough for her to sink her claws in him? Did she have the eye of the tiger and sneak up behind them like she was on a hot tin roof? Can I make one more cat reference in this paragraph that would make it just purrfect? Do I need to be medicated?

“Dad” Jeeves," - Superintendent of the Masonic Center - He buttles and is under suspicion as well. A bit high strung, "Dad" Jeeves has never taken criticism well, especially as it relates to his job.  Did “Dad” Boddy criticize his door opening skills? Did he miss cleaning up a scuff on the floor? Or did he scuff up "Dad" Boddy?

That will be for YOU to decide.

On Thursday, we will posting what we know about the case so far, so check back to get the first CLUEs for the weekend!

Get a C.L.U.E.: Part VII - The Butler

As PA DeMolay prepares for the upcoming C.L.U.E. Spring Leadership Weekend, to be held May 2-4, 2014, at Patton Campus, we thought it high time to introduce you to some of the characters that you'll meet during the weekend. This is the final character to be introduced.

 

David Anthony Michael Saint-John Smythe Worchester Jeeves was clearly meant for service.  He was born with a silver salver in his hand, much to his mother’s chagrin:  She was hoping for a child who would grow up to be a barrister.  Or at least a barrista.  Jeeves was educated in a fantastically mediocre English Comprehensive School in Leeds, which was subsequently sold to the lowest bidder and relocated brick by brick to a more fashionable suburb of Hoboken, New Jersey.  While at school, he was voted “Chap With Way Too Many Names For A Working Class Boy.”  He passed his GCSE’s magna cum lucky, and came to service early, accepting a situation as a footman to who he believed to be the Lord Privy Seal, but who turned out in fact to be the Lord Privy Cleaner.  The job looked good on paper, but soon his spirits plunged, and he feared his career was going down the drain. 

 

He was able to gain a place in the entering class of the Theological College of Saint Lowell of Emgee (LOL OMG). Upon graduation, he was dismayed to find that the school was not recognized by the Church of England, but rather by the Church of New England (CoNE), a little known splinter sect of the Anglican tradition.  So he headed for America in search of a vicarate, and arrived at the See of the CoNE, headquartered in a former ice cream parlor with heavily boarded windows in South Boston, and covered in graffiti reading “Protestants Go Home!”  He rang the bell for several hours.  No one answered.

So he began a ministry of itinerant preaching, working his way south into Pennsylvania.  He was pontificating on a street corner in Unlikely, PA one day, and was overheard by our own “Dad” Boddy.  So, struck was “Dad” Boddy with the Reverend Jeeves’s preaching that he immediately insisted on hiring him on to act as the caretaker of the Masonic Center.  And so Jeeves went from dog-collar to dogsbody, and had to content himself with service once again.  He hoped to put his ministerial training to some use, and volunteered, with “Dad” Boddy, to work with the young men of Preposterous Chapter. 

Still, contentedness eluded him.  He was continuously galled by the treatment he received from “Dad” Boddy and the rest of the Council.  These ugly Americans understood nothing of the fine tradition of service, nor of the honor of the English clergy.  To them, he was a well-dressed janitor, and their “Downton Abbey” references were about to get one of them punched up the bracket.
He had become a truly unsettled man.  But is he capable of murder?

Membership Recruitment - It's no mystery!

Many of you know that I'm always scanning the internet for great resources or ideas to bring to Pennsylvania DeMolay. Recently, on one of these searches, I came across a fantastic video produced by the State Master Councilor of Indiana DeMolay.

Bro. Sunny Atwal was on vacation, visiting family abroad, during an important workshop weekend for Indiana DeMolay. Rather than just not be there, Sunny produced a short video on his tips for membership recruitment for DeMolays. The information in the video is really presented well and I think every DeMolay (and Mason) could benefit from understanding the principles that Sunny lays out. So, on with the video!

 

Note: Sunny talks about some Indiana DeMolay programs in his video (such as how they administer the PMC-MSA) This varies in Pennsylvania, so be aware.

Did you learn something from Sunny? If so, leave a comment and let us know.

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Get a C.L.U.E.: Part VI - Mrs. White

As PA DeMolay prepares for the upcoming C.L.U.E. Spring Leadership Weekend, to be held May 2-4, 2014, at Patton Campus, we thought it high time to introduce you to some of the characters that you'll meet during the weekend. This series of articles will run every Thursday for the next several weeks, so make sure to check back!

Beatrice Eugenia Black was born to a family of poor maids. They were all maids. Her mother was a maid. Her father was a maid. Her brothers were maids. Her cats were maids. None of them were particularly good maids (which is why they were still poor) however, from a very young age, Beatrice learned the value of a dollar. This value followed Beatrice into her teen’s right up until she married her first husband, the son of the founder of a q-tip company, Lord Count Esquire, Jr.

 

The newlyweds shared a small home and seemed off to a good start. Their house may have been small but they had all the q-tips they needed. Little is known about the life of the Lord or Beatrice Esquire's first marriage ,as neither lasted very long. By her 19^th birthday Beatrice buried her first husband and sold their home and q-tip mountain for a small fortune. Being the demure woman she is, she rarely discusses the Lord's death and when asked about their time shared replies “He did always keep the cleanest ears.”

 

It was at the late Lord's funeral that Ms. Esquire met "Fat Cat" Pat of Fat Cat Salami aka the Salami King aka the Salami Swami. The wealthy entrepreneur was a portly man of 390lbs and quite well off. So well off in fact that his palace had two real salami towers. Delicious! Days after being wed to Beatrice, Fat Cat was discovered in his study, by a servant no less, the corpse weighing in at 90lbs. No doctor could explain where all the weight went, but the huge sudden drop shocked his body and killed him. When asked for a statement upon selling his company Mrs. Cat said “Now what I am supposed to do with all the cheese and eggs?”

Little is known about the lady’s third husband, Mr. White. No one can find any record of the gentleman’s profession, his name, or date of birth. All that is known was that he was very rich because of his previous business ventures (also unknown to the public). Recalling her late husband the lady sobs “I’ll never forget sweet, kind what’s-his-name.”

 

Recently attention was brought to the fact that most of Mrs. White’s husbands have had untimely deaths as her latest late husband was buried without his head. She still says to this day “We may not have been able to have had an open casket but at least he was buried wearing his favorite hat.”

 

Mrs. White has no children however she currently resides with her eleven cats near Feline Fields, PA.

What to expect at PA DeMolay Convention 2014

Each year the Convention Staff tries to improve the program, and make it more fun and attractive to both members and Advisors (but primarily members!) Any time we plan an event, challenges appear. We have tried to address some of those issues here, so please read this section fully.

For full information on Convention, check out the Official Convention Page on the PA DeMolay website.

Optional Activities

In the past, PA DeMolay has offered optional activities on Friday afternoon at an additional cost to those attending Convention. Some took us up on these events, while others chose to arrive later in the day for various reasons. One of the pluses to planning such a large event is that we often can leverage better group discounts. This year, we are in talks with the Reading Museum and Planetarium, just a stone’s throw from the West Reading Masonic Center. We are hoping to offer the Friday optional activities at no additional charge for both members and Advisors. If this occurs, this will be an excellent value for you and your Chapter and represents a fun (and yes, educational) activity for those attending Convention. Final details are still pending, but we plan to have more information in the coming weeks.

Saturday Schedule

PA DeMolay is proud to be celebrating its 90th year, and as such, we have worked some changes into the Convention schedule, compared to previous years. The Business Session, the primary reason for holding Convention, has been moved to first thing on Saturday morning, immediately after breakfast. This will lead directly into the Honors Luncheon (although we anticipate a small about amount of break time between the session and the meal.) Following the Luncheon, we will have a presentation by a key-note speaker, after which members and Advisors will attend some constructive afternoon workshops. Beginning at 4 PM, all attendees will be asked to witness the conferral of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. This is the first time the Legion of Honor Ceremony has been conferred at Convention in nearly a dozen years, so don’t miss the chance to see it! Dinner will follow the Ceremony and the evening will be capped off with a 90th Anniversary Ball, with entertainment provided by the Diablo Sandwich Band (a live, 8 piece band, with great musical range. Check out the attached video clip for a preview.) This will be a dance to remember, to so be sure to invite your local Rainbow Assemblies and Job’s Daughter Bethels to come out and enjoy the dance as well, free of charge!

… in case you didn’t realize…

The downside to such a packed Saturday schedule, is that most of the day will be spent in jacket and tie for our members and advisors, along with a jacket and tie being required for the Ball. So, please be sure to advise active DeMolays to plan appropriately.

Get a C.L.U.E.: Part V - Mr. Green

As PA DeMolay prepares for the upcoming C.L.U.E. Spring Leadership Weekend, to be held May 2-4, 2014, at Patton Campus, we thought it high time to introduce you to some of the characters that you'll meet during the weekend. This series of articles will run every Thursday for the next several weeks, so make sure to check back!

Mr. Hunter Tuttu Grön (or Mr. Green in English) was born in Greenland and is the decedent of Gunnbjorn Ulfsson, who settled in Grönland by mistake when his ship was blown off course while sailing from Norway to Iceland.  After many years of trying to survive in this northern tundra, his family jumped the iceberg and moved to the burg of Green, also known as Greensburg, PA, for “greener” pastures and a way to claim recognition for their “infamous” name. With their extensive knowledge and history working with ice, his family thought there would be a huge market for the ice industry and started their own ice manufacturing business.
   
As a young teen, Mr. Green realized that his passion for all things ice was only shared with his family, so he joined a local DeMolay Chapter in an attempt to spread the word and get others excited about his ice hobbies: snow cone making, curling, figure skating, and ice sculpting.  Unfortunately and despite his efforts, his ice craze could not catch on and he was met with a lot of resistance especially from his peer, “Dad” Body. Dad Body was the leader of the local Chapter and a Charter member.  In fact, he served as Master Councilor for two years. During his reign, he appointed Mr. Green as Sentinel for all four of his terms because he didn’t want to see Mr. Green in the chapter room and thought he was best suited as the outer observer.  In fact, Mr. Green was also the butt of numerous jokes.  He was often referred to as "Seafoam Green" rather than his birth name Hunter Green.  Mr. Green was also never given the opportunity for to perform a speaking part in any of the DeMolay degrees due to his thick accent although, he lost his accent over time. He did however have excellent floor work when preforming the part of Almoner or Hughes de Peralde.

In his spare time, Mr. Green continues to be an ice activist and rallies for the protection of the ice caps.  His passion for his beliefs can be over the top and slightly flamboyant.  Like his DeMolay brothers, political leaders find Mr. Green to be extremely annoying and naïve since science and a certain political party have proven Global Warming to be political propaganda.  Mr. Green is not a sneaky man, but has recently collected incriminating evidence on several characters and their involvement to melt the ice caps or fund anti-global warming programs.   He is the only person who knows about this evidence and is worried others will try and take it.  Therefore, he is ALWAYS on alert…..

Why Watches?

A little while ago, I wrote a blog post about the origination of the term "key" as it relates to our awards in DeMolay. The long story short is that the keys were used for pocket watches. Since writing that post, I've taken a bit more interest in watches and clocks and thought I'd share some of my findings here.

Many DeMolays pride themselves on being above the "fashion" curve so to speak. Our members generally know how to dress better than most of their friends and they have more experience with wearing a suit and dealing with formal settings. However, one of the "dying" arts in men's fashion is understanding the need and wearing of a good wrist watch.

Now, many of you are probably saying "But, "Dad" Anthony, I don't need a watch. I have a magical device in my pocket that does everything a watch can and much more - my phone!" While it's true that your phone can do all of the things a watch does, there are some advantages to wearing a watch, plus there is statement to be made with your choice as well.

Why would you choose a watch over a phone? The folks over at Arcadia NYC, a business that sells watches, offer the following reasons:

"Think of just how many occasions where it is rude or just impossible to look at your smartphone but totally acceptable to casually or discreetly  glance at your wristwatch; The theater, a date, a concert, a meal with family or friends, an airplane, a business meeting, a job interview, while driving, and on and on and on. Add onto that the fact that watches are a beautiful, decorative accessory that is one of a very few that are totally socially acceptable for virtually all men and women if the design is appropriate – it gives a person a chance to express themselves in a way they may not be comfortable with using other forms of jewelry/adornment.

There are also professions that basically require that you have a watch – doctors, nurses, anyone who has to take someone’s pulse, needs a second hand to do it with. Therapists prefer to be able to discreetly keep track of that famous 50-minute hour without constantly looking obviously at the clock on the wall. Teachers can’t say to their students to keep their cellphones put away and then pull theirs out every 10 minutes to check their lesson plan scheduling. Drivers should know better than to be distracted with their cellphones while driving; but your wrist is almost attached to the steering wheel."

So, obviously there are still some very good reasons to wear a time piece on your wrist. Before you dismiss the idea of wearing a watch and go back to checking your phone, give the idea a chance. You might be surprised how wearing a watch makes a statement about you!

Perhaps later, I'll write an article about choosing a wrist watch... hmmmm....

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Get a C.L.U.E.: Part IV - Miss Scarlet

As PA DeMolay prepares for the upcoming C.L.U.E. Spring Leadership Weekend, to be held May 2-4, 2014, at Patton Campus, we thought it high time to introduce you to some of the characters that you'll meet during the weekend. This series of articles will run every Thursday for the next several weeks, so make sure to check back!

Miss Crystal Amber Scarlet was born in Barnstable, MA (not be confused with being born a in a barn, which she was not), to an innkeeper father and a hotel maid mother.  During her teenage years, she was often required to work in her father's inn, where it did not take her long to realize that a few flattering words and a nice smile earned her significant attention and tips, especially from many of the businessmen and locals that frequented her father's establishments.

Unfortunately, Miss Scarlet's very lucrative income came to an abrupt end when her father sold the inn without her knowledge.  Left with no job and no income, Miss Scarlet was busy considering her options when she was contacted by one of her wealthy customers from her father's business asking her to be his companion for an important political event.  Through her networking skills, Miss Scarlet built herself a very lucrative business as a "companion" to high ranking politicians and businessmen. Miss Scarlet was very careful to keep detailed secret files on her companions, whose business has kept Miss Scarlet living a lifestyle she has no intention of losing, despite efforts by several of her companions to destroy her through blackmail unless she turns over the private files that she keeps on each of her companions.  Miss Scarlet has no intention of giving into blackmail.