Episode 88. Relevance (ft. Scott Rich)

We’re hanging out with Senior Grand Deacon Scott Rich. The pride of Mizpah No. 191 shares life adventures from the South Pacific with the Marine Corps, woodworking, skydiving, and perspective on how we ensure lodges are relevant to our members. 

“That’s such a huge thing to be able to accept, especially as a man: here are some guys I can count on and trust, that’ll be there for me no matter what. I don’t have to be all things to everyone on my own.” 

Fire up the lathe and don your safety goggles; it’s an all-new Minnesota Masonic Histories & Mysteries. 

Transcript

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You joined Masonry in 1998. Your brother-in-law, Brian thought you might enjoy it. He said, Hey, it's only one night a month. Yeah. How's that working out so far? Well, I get one night a month at home. Oh, is that that, is that the ratio now? Not quite that bad, but started out once a month and then, then it was twice. And it. It's good. It worked out. Our guest today on Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries is Scott Rich. You grew up in Inver Grove Heights, parents and four siblings attended sibling high school, graduated in 1980. Entered the US Marine Corps in June of that year, right after graduation on deferred enlistments. You did four years in the Marine Corps, correct? Four years active, yes. What was your specialty? I was a OS 360 COBOL programmer. So I, uh, I wrote software for the Marine Corps. well, everything we did was on punch card and we would write out our code on these big 40 by 80 sheets and bring them back to the ladies in the back and they'd type'em out on the punch cards. And then we'd bring these big decks in and slide'em through a window and they would run them in another room. We weren't allowed to actually touch the computer. Wow. And they had operators back there. Very, very specialized. Oh, yes. Everything was, se so four years in the Marine Corps, you returned back to Inver Grove? After that I did I went to night school, although technically it was during the day I worked at night. and it was a national university. It was a storefront on University Avenue in St. Paul, which is now an auto zone. and I got a two year degree. So, and, and to, to really date myself, the degree is computer data processing. Okay. All of these things make us sound like we really did grow up in the 19 hundreds. Yes, yes, for sure. So you were going to night school, but actually. During the day and then worked at a place called Web Publishing for many years. I was there for 17 years. What did you do? Uh, well I started out, um, working on a phone book line. So we made all the yellow pages for US West, and my job was to carry big bundles of sections of the yellow pages and pile'em on a table. All day. Oh, yep. All day. That's what I did. Exhausting a little bit. Uh, well, mostly boring. Yeah, because you have your section and you got about eight different sections of the yellow pages, and you just have to keep them piled up. Uh, the only real danger in it was they were, they were secured with baling wire. Oh my. So you had to, you set'em on the table and they had a board on each end, and you cut the baling wire. one night I got popped right above the eye with the wire, and so I'm bleeding a little bit and I go up into the office to get a bandaid and I asked my supervisor, you know, Hey, where's the first aid kit? And he says, why? And I moved my hand. He fainted, oh gosh. From the side of the blood and hit his head on the corner of the desk and we had to call an ambulance for him, for him, for him. Meanwhile, I had one of them little, you know, bandaids on my forehead, but sounds like a scene out of a Quentin Tarantino movie. Okay, so we've covered hunch cards. Forklift operating and Yellow Pages, even though that sounds a little dated to some of our younger members. You recently celebrated your 25th anniversary working at Northern Tool. Uh, I'm a network engineer, so I do routing and switching and, wide area network, firewalls, things like that. Some security. Uh, it's mostly remote. very rarely is anything in the room that I'm in. Okay. It's all over all of our stores. Distribution centers, warehouses, things like that. How wide does Northern go across the country? Uh, we're from Minnesota, down to Texas and over to Florida, and we're slowly creeping up into the, uh, northeast hundreds of locations. Then, uh, about 140, I think at this point. I had something like that, no idea that it was that extensive across the country. Well, and who knew A store called Northern would be so popular in the South. They don't reject the whole northern vibe. Well, apparently not. We've, we've got, many stores in Florida and Texas, so So as we covered, you joined Freemasonry in 1998, your home lodge MPA number 1 91 in South St. Paul, you served as master in 2002, 2010, and again in 2019. You were the hiring award recipient in 2005, and you and I are both plural members at Hector Lodge, number 1 58 in St. Paul. I know you served as master in 2023. Your resume is long. The Scottish Rites, the York Rites as far as Grand Lodge, you were an area deputy for three years, and then the area deputy chairman from 2020 to 22. Pointed to the Progressive Line by Tony Crawl, and you're currently serving as the junior grand Deacon. How's that going so far? Did you ever imagine in your Masonic journey, you started in 98, friends said, Hey, it's just a couple Misha tree, you might like this. And now, did you ever anticipate that? Um, no. No, none of this. Um, honestly, I was happy at Ms. Pa. which is an entirely different lodge than Hector. I mean, not just because it's a different lodge, but, miss was a very, very blue collar working man lodge. a sport code is way overdressed or one of our meetings, um, whereas Hector is much more formal. and it's a different vibe in each. I get along extremely well with the brothers and both, but it's very different relationships. as far as all the other stuff, uh, it kind of just happened. I had no designs at all on, uh, anything beyond Blue Lodge. caught the attention apparently of, of, uh, Dayton Berg. He started giving me jobs and things progress from there. More, more to do, yeah. Than what to do. And, uh, I enjoyed it. So, when, when Tony asked me to be his appointee totally outta the blue, I had no idea. Um, wasn't even considering it. So that was, uh, quite a shock. He asked me. And I think it was at the end of April and I had to wait until November before I could say anything to anyone. So, I'm not sure if that was a test to see if I could keep a secret or, or how it went, but I didn did, I didn't. That's some big news to keep under your hat for several months. Yeah. Isn't the old phrase go that somebody who is looking for it, who's seeking it, shouldn't be the one and the, the the person, the brother that's doing the work that's fulfilling the obligation that's just head down and focused on That's the guy. And you were Tony's guy. Yeah. Yeah. And I, I agree with that to an extent. you know, I don't think Freemasonry is a place for, um, the seekers. Of position and title and validation, right? Um, it's, it's a place to, you know what they say, gain light to get light, but to, to learn and improve and, and, and make yourself better. Not necessarily have more plaques on the wall, are titles on your resume? Right? You, you know, I don't think that's what we're here for. I recently chatted with a gentleman who was interested in learning more about possibly joining a lodge in his community, and he asked me about that, of what, what do you guys mean when you say light and, and all of these things. How would you describe that concept to a non mason?'cause it's not. I don't think it, it translates in the, in what it is, the reality for us as what it may sound like to an outsider. Yeah. It's not as simple as, learning about masonry or going through the degrees. It's about, introspection and, and learning what you are. you can't improve if you don't know what you're starting with. To me, that's what light means. It means shining that light on your inner self, um, figuring out who you are and where you want to go. so it's, it's really kind of a, a very, very personal, um, meaning for me to, to gain light in masonry. that doesn't mean it shouldn't include all the other things you have to learn, you know, you have to know the ritual. You have to know, uh. How the fraternity works and how it functions. but it's, it's really more, it's far more personal than, than most people like to express to outsiders. So In that conversation I was having, he found the, becoming that better version of himself to be very appealing. and he read somewhere that phrase that makes me squirm a little bit about making good men better. And I told him that we don't make anybody anything. Freemasonry can give you a roadmap on how to take the steps to become a better version of yourself while having the support of your friends and brothers within the lodge setting. That's a tough message to convey to the outsider without either sounding insider baseball or without it sounding abstract or somewhat opaque. Yeah, I agree. Um, you know, from my own personal experience before I joined Masonry. I didn't have a whole lot going on. I had my family, of course, and my, my wife and children and, but not much else going on. And it, I just felt out of place. Um, I didn't have that brotherhood I had in the military, and I think, I think I was angry a lot. Were you Because, because I didn't have. Anything other than family. And while family can, you know, family's family and, and they, and they do a lot of things for you. But, after I joined Masonry and started going to lodge and meeting with the guys and, and just hanging out, it was a whole lot different than the Saturday night bowling league. You know, those aren't guys, you can, you can have fun with those guys, but you can't confide in those guys. But the guys at Lodge, you can. And, and after a while, after a couple years, it was, you know, I felt a lot of that anger going away, um, as I really kind of figured out what I wanted, you know, as I, as I advanced or whatever you want to call it in Masonry. Um, you advanced in a self-awareness, a Absolutely. That's, I, I learned more about me in those first couple years than I did. Did about lodge, so it was, it was a, a, a great experience and that's the kind of thing I try to convey to, to guys who might be interested. Um, but again, it, it is, it's a tough concept without, you know, I don't know how to explain it. It, it's tough to put into words and that's a recurring ask or wish. From new members or even existing members that want to capture an authentic connection with their friends and brothers. That, that we can have fun and we can have our jokey banter and laugh it up and, and talk like guys do. But when life happens, when we need somebody, when we need that friend and brother in the middle of the night, in an inconvenient time, we can lean on each other and we know that we'll be there for one another. Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's part of what, what makes me think that I've improved is that willingness to be there. I, I think I'm like most guys, I don't ever imagine that I'm gonna need you, but I'll be there if you need me. And I know at some point that'll it, it'll be the reverse and I'm gonna need somebody. Yeah. And I know I can count on those guys. but yeah, that's a, that's such a huge thing to be able to accept, especially as a man, that here are some guys I can count on that I can trust in, that'll be there for me no matter what. You know, I don't have to be, all things to everyone on my own. I've, I've got a group Don't ask who's my brother? Ask yourself, am I a brother to someone else? And then just knowing that I'm there for you, you're there for, and should the, should that occasion ever arise, then there's that level of, of comfort and of knowing that is huge. Society in general, men specifically are lacking purpose and connection. I heard it referenced as the male crisis. Men are more separated and isolated from each other than ever before. The average American man spends eight years of his life in escapist entertainment, basically looking to run away from his actual life. When we don't show them how to build a life that's meaningful, to give a man purpose, solutions, or strength, that's a problem, and that's something we're addressing at the lodge level. what are your thoughts on that? That that eight years of our lives, as we as men in general, are trying to escape, trying to move on to the next thing and that that's really alarming. It, it is. And that's seems like a really long time. Um, but I would, I would say it's true that a lot of us are looking for something. we, we had a young man join our lodge many years ago, obviously in search of something, and he was there for about a year and then he moved on. He, he committed and went on to other things and he recently reached back out to me and he's been writing. And he said a lot of this stuff is, might relate to Masonry. So I called him and said, are, are you interested in coming back? You obviously it's been 10 years. Wow. You still haven't found whatever it was you were looking for. And so we've been talking. He hasn't committed to come back yet, but I, I believe that's true. I think so many of us are looking for something. We don't know what, but I think an organization like ours. At least we'll give a guy a chance to say, these are guys who understand and, and if I can just figure out who I am, I can figure out where I want to go. And I think Masonry can provide that opportunity. The the use of gen AI or generative artificial intelligence is changing. By analyzing tens of thousands of posts on online forums like Reddit and others, researchers discovered that people have begun turning to gen ai. Much more for personal and professional support. Therapy and personal organization are now the most common uses. Meanwhile, harnessing AI for technical assistance has become less prevalent. People are turning to AI for personal and professional support for companionship, for a number of things. There's something about a digital connection that just feels very hollow to me. What, what are your thoughts? I would absolutely have to agree. Um, you know, when I think of, of that personal ai, I'm thinking of the old, uh, uh, Blackberry, you know, the PDA that you Yeah. You know, you could say, Hey, you know, keep track of this appointment for me. Not as someone I can unburden my, daily tragedies to, and, and hope to get support from. I mean, that seems a little, odd to me. Yes. Uh, but I, I believe that's true. You know, we talked about that eight hours of diversion and I know some guys that are, that they play games online. And they play and all day long, all night long, they play games online. That's their only social connection people. They've never, and, and it doesn't have to be a real person. Why? They never see'em, they never shake hands, so I can understand how that could come about mm-hmm. You know, from the, from that gaming. but it seems a very, a very lonely, uh, existence to. Ha have a, you know, I'm gonna talk to my computer today. Yeah. we talked about that escapist entertainment of men running away from their actual life. And it seems like men in general are just sedated by adult content, video games, and screens. It's all about the screen. it's almost like we're just numbing ourselves. Screen time. We're just, so, I read it referenced as, uh, bed rotting people. That that's the new Yeah. Apparently that's the new term of, of people that will lie in bed all day scrolling, not doing anything. The screen has become a substitute for human to human connection. I guess one thing in favor of that is that screen's not gonna judge you. And if you go out and present yourself to people, you know, you gotta take that chance. You gotta, you gotta understand that some people aren't gonna like you and a lot of people just don't wanna deal with that. That's why you need, you need something like what we have so that you can be around people that, at least it's open and, and to your face and not, like the trolls online. Mm-hmm. You know, they're, they get to hide behind that screen. I don't know how to combat that. There's, there's a lot of it and there's so much bad online that there's, there's no way the good can overcome it. we need men particularly to get away from that, to get out, to be active, to be, out of the house. Doing something, you know, even if it's like me over the weekend, you know, I had a great time cleaning my garage, but I was out doing something physical away. I wasn't in front of a screen getting all that negative feedback. and it's, it's such a, a loop, you know. The more you do it, the worse it gets, the more you do it, you know, looking for something better and you're not gonna find it there. AI will continue doing a lot of things for us, and it will enhance our lives in many ways, but it will never replace the human to human connection. And, and that's a, that's the missing piece for so many men that are seeking more information about freemasonry, a mentor, mentee relationship, quality, authentic friends and brothers Joined together in this journey of life. A brother recently said to me that he felt uncomfortable sharing advice with someone because he, well, I don't have the answers for him. And then it really, it surfaced as well. What would you tell your 30-year-old self? What would you go back and. You may not have the answers, but we all have cautionary tales we can share with one another younger and older than US life experience that institutional knowledge. Can you imagine your life without the lessons or without some of that knowledge that's been shared either with your military friends, Masonic brothers, colleagues at work, that, that that's where the gold is? Oh, absolutely. I, I think back at some of the, dumb things I did as a kid. Or opportunities I missed because I wasn't paying attention. so yeah, there's a ton of things. I'd go back to my younger self and say, Hey, dummy, you know, focus. Yeah, focus on this. Pay attention to this. I did so much traveling in the Marine Corps. Did you where? Um, all over South Pacific from Australia to Japan. everywhere we, we, I was on ship for. almost two years, attached to a marine amphibious unit. but we went to those places and we partied and we had fun. And, and it's like all the cultural things or the, you know, even just Australia's such a beautiful place and, and. Went to the bar. I was gonna say, I was just gonna say all these things around us, but if you need me, I'll be at the bar. Right, right. You know, so of course there's, there's so many things that, and I won't say I regret anything I did, but I certainly would prompt myself to do something different had I had the chance. Reallocate your time or your focus in that moment. Right, right. What was the first bad storm at sea, like on the ocean? Huh? the first time we sailed out, I was stationed in Cowa Bay, Hawaii. So when I was on ship, we, we sailed out of Pearl Harbor and we were out for a day and a half and hit a tsunami. Um, and I was on an LST. What does that, what does that mean? it's like landing ship troop or something like that. Okay. Not large. Not, it's not big and it has a flat bottom. Oh God. Because it's made to pull up onto the beach. So we're in these 16, 18 foot swells in a, in a barge. Oh. and it was very interesting. We, of course, we weren't allowed to go on deck. We had to stay below, you know, because they didn't trust us to not fall over. Sure. But that lasted about a day and a half. Oh my God. And, uh, everybody's sick. Most of the, most of the guys were, yeah, it was, uh, it was kind of calm. I was fine. I didn't have any problem with it. Uh, my biggest problem was when we finally got to shore. We come off the ship onto the pier and I couldn't walk straight. I was so used to walking on the, the ship. Mm-hmm. That I would start veering off to one side. It was really weird and apparently very common. Very, very common thing for the Marines.'cause they would make the, the sailors would make fun of us, So you'd mentioned family earlier. Your best friend Joe got married in 1989 and that's when you, where you met your wife Amy, you got married in 91, correct? Yes. Yeah, we met at Joe's wedding. I was one of the groomsmen I went with no intention of I, it was, you know, I'm gonna go and have a little fun and stand up for my friend. Yeah. And um, and I met Amy. she's a little bit younger than me, at first I was nervous but turned out okay. in the moment, did you feel like that there's a connection here? Did you, did you suspect anything? Was it one of those like, oh my, I can't ignore this? Or was it just sort of a casual? Um, it, I think there was something, I guess I never really thought about it too much. Um, we met, we danced, uh, we met again the next day, uh, at the, the gift opening, opening thing. Sure. Yeah. and then we started dating. And so it, it seems to me like there was always something, uh. It was good. Two kids. It's Stephanie and Michael that are in their thirties now. How fast has that been? Way too fast. Way too fast. We were just at the fair this weekend and it's, it's just watching them as the adults they become is just awesome. Does that ever get in your head though, with just the passage of time and how fast it goes to see now your, your children in air quotes are in their thirties? I guess I, I don't think about it too much. and I know I'm older. I don't feel older. I don't think I'm older. I know I'm older. I still do things and hurt myself because I'm not 29, but I think I am. You try though, you know? I guess that's something that's never really. Bothered me or anything that I've really dwelt on. I, the passage of time is just, it's just is and not, it's not something I'm gonna fight, I'm just gonna enjoy. Your brother Troy, your son Michael and son-in-law, Josh are also Masons. How, how fun is that to be sharing that experience with, uh, well, it, it was. at one point at Ms. Polo, there was five relatives of mine in the line. So we kind of had a dynasty going there for a bit. no, it's a lot of fun. Um, I actually learned more about my little brother, uh, after he became a Mason than I, than I did growing up. he's eight years younger than me, so it's not like we hung out. but. He's, he's a, he's a great guy. I was gonna say a great kid, but you know, sure. He'll always be your kid, bro. He's, he's in his fifties, so he is not really a kid anymore. But, you know, and having my son and my son-in-law there in the lodge is just amazing though. They're just such great young men. It's a lot of fun. It's interesting though, that you learn more about your kid, brother. In the lodge than all those years before. And that's again, something that's hard to articulate or that dynamic that, that comes through in the lodge setting. Well, it is. Um, we didn't always get along when we were younger. I was often tasked with being the babysitter, uh, which is something I, I resented being a teenager of course, you know? but as we got older, we, we kind of became friends. and then in the lodge it's kind of, he's more willing to open up about personal things than he is when we're at one of our houses with our wives around or other friends or other family. and, and I'm sure I'm the same way. I, I don't get too personal in a, in a crowd. Mm-hmm. but when you're there in that, in that. In that live setting and, and it's one-on-one, um, you really can open up and, and learn about people. It's, it's a lot of fun. Tell us about your lifelong hobby of woodworking. You're like, you carve, you make pens, leather, working. Where'd you learn to do all of these things? Uh, most of what I just started doing, I've been a woodworker since, probably since high school. and that was, you know, your typical, cabinetry and things like that. nothing ever really fancy. never formal training. I think I had one wood shop in high school one year. Um, that's it. I've seen some of your work that that's just perfecting the grip as you go. Yeah, most of the stuff I just kind of picked up. Wow. So the lathe work, the turning the pens and things. Um, my wife's grandfather moved into a retirement home and gave me his lathe. And this lathe is like from the 1950s, so it's big and heavy and cast iron and um, so I just started playing around and, um, a friend of mine said, Hey, you should make some pens. I said, oh, sure. So I bought a kit, turned some pens and give it a shot. Yeah. And it, it was fun. And they're quick and easy and um, that's part of the joy of it, is I get to see almost immediate results. It takes me about an hour to make a pen start to finish, yeah's all. Wow. I thought it would've been far more extensive than that. Um, well, sometimes it is, but it just depends on what I'm using. But it, it's fun and enjoyable and, and like I say, I get to see the results right away. the carvings a little different. I started that about, oh, 20 years ago maybe. and I, and, and my wife bought me this little kit and, and had a dog, you know, to carve a little dog. And I still have that little dog. He's horrible looking. Doesn't look like a dog at all. What does it look like? Well, it kind of looks, uh, some, a cross between a dog and a cat and maybe a platypus. since then I've, I've worked, uh, I, I cover the guy named Art, and he kind of mentored me for a few years. He's a very accomplished carver. so now I've got, cowboys and clowns and Santas. for a while I was carving a Santa every year for my wife and, moved on to other things now, but, uh, it's big detail. There's a lot of detail on some of them. and those take a while. Those are usually three or four months. Wow. On a, on a carving. I don't carve every day. I just carve once a week. Mm-hmm. Uh, I meet with my friends, uh, usually on a Wednesday evening or a Thursday evening, and. We sit for a couple hours and carve, and then we have a beer and then we go home. Is it therapeutic when you're in the zone? It, it is, um, it's more therapeutic sharing it with them than just doing it by,'cause I've sat in my basement and carved and I usually just end up watching tv. Right. Yeah. You look up and, oh, an hour's passed and I haven't done any carving. Yeah. But yeah, it is, it's definitely that, that act of creating, you know, it just, it's very relaxing. takes my mind away from all the other stuff, you know, not that my life is really full of, a lot of big stresses, you know? but just that chance to, to create and to, Spend that time is, is, is very relaxing, very therapeutic. there's really something very natural but powerful about that. So un unplug a little bit. Yeah, absolutely. And that's really the key is, is to just to get away from life, even if it's just for an hour. It just really is, like you said, it's that reset that, that. Let's just start fresh. I'll be honest. I have a little bit of envy that you are able to enjoy the Masonic journey with a brother, with your son and your son-in-law. My dad never joined. He was of that generation where grandpa was waiting for him to say, say the words I'm in, and he never did, never joined again. Broke that chain of multiple generations that were mm-hmm. Masons, grandpa, uncles, all of them. You've had a lot of experience as an officer and in support roles as well. What would you tell a relatively new master or warden of a lodge how to best. How to best basically differentiate the line between the ceremonial part of his role versus the administrative reality of that role. Where is the line of demarcation from your perspective? Oh, that's a, that's a tough question. Um, I would say you have to, you have to run the lodge. I mean, that's your job. You have to absolutely rely on those, those brothers to help you. You're not up there by yourself. You have a whole room full of people that want to help. They're there because they want to be there. You know, it's not like gym class where, where you have to go. Right. You know, these guys want to be there, they want to help. so, so let them, you know, don't, don't. Try to do everything just'cause it's your year. Um, it's, it's the lodge's year also, and these guys want to help. Let'em help, be involved, but don't try to do everything on your own. Isn't that something we see pretty frequently? And I don't know if it's an age thing or where, how to decipher it, but there's a lot of masters and wardens that feel like I have to do everything, delegation, but not fire and forget. But sharing the responsibilities ideally when somebody gets to the east, to become the master. It's almost like an air traffic controller. You're, you're just overseeing a lot of these different layers of committees and officers and the things that need to get done within the lodge. It ideally should not be a burden carried by one. No, it shouldn't. And, we kind of do a disservice to ourselves by not, teaching these guys that before they get there. one of the best things we've done in recent years is this, uh, leadership training that we've been doing with the junior wardens in February. Yeah. And we've had such positive feedback on that. Um, my son went a couple years ago and he's already got his year planned out. He's ready to go. Um, and he's excited about it. the last couple masters we've had at, at. really nervous and not sure what to do and, and afraid to ask questions. And, and I guess that's the other important thing I would stress to anybody who's an officer in a lodge ask questions. You know, if you haven't been around for a really long time like I have, there's stuff you're not gonna know. You're just not gonna know it. don't be afraid to say, Hey, I don't know what to do here, or how, you know, can someone help? You know, and again, that goes back to that, that male mentality of, I'm in charge, I have to do it and I'm responsible. But it's different in a lodge. There's guys there, like I say, they want to be there, they want to help. I think sometimes that younger Mason is apprehensive to ask a question to a more seasoned member because he doesn't wanna feel foolish, but at the same time, the old guys can learn something from the younger guy too. There's a perspective to be shared in that mentor mentee relationship. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. just talking to them and understanding their viewpoint is so much different than ours. The, the younger guys, and the younger guys can be, you know, the 50 year olds or Yeah, the 20 year olds. I mean, it's, I wanna, you're, you're very kind. I want to feel young at heart too, but I'm not. but yeah, there. Their vantage point is so vastly different from mine. even between me and my younger brother, we, we grew up together, but we see, see things so, so differently. and that was my comment about learning so much about him earlier, just talking to and seeing from his viewpoint, it was like, oh, I, I never considered that. So it's important. Yeah, they, they absolutely have stuff to teach us. It's not a one-way street, just because I've been a mason longer than they have. As you think back on the highlight reel of your Masonic journey, what is one that stands out in particular? I would think. That, my year as Grand Marshall for Brian Beerman was, an eye-opener. It really made me feel part of the fraternity. Um. As a young Mason, I got to tell people, you go here and you go here. Hey man, I'm the Grand Marshall. Yeah. So, so that was, uh, of all the things I've done, I think that so far has been the most fun thing. Was that a surprise when Brian contacted you in that appointed position? Uh, it was, we had kind of talked about it a little bit before. Um, he had asked if I would be interested in something and I said, well, sure, why not? You know,'cause I had no idea what what would be involved. But, that one was fun. It it, and I'm glad I I took it. What seemingly small thing changed your life Forever. Mm-hmm. You can edit out the long pause. I like the pause. The pause is good. Um, seemingly small thing that changed my life forever. honestly, agreeing to go to, and I know it's a big thing, but going to Joe's wedding was the thing. I had no intention of meeting anybody or doing anything. that was probably the thing. There's really something to be said about the near misses that could have happened. Had you not gone to the wedding. Had you been ill that day or had you said no, or I, I have a conflict. There's an opportunity around every corner of our life that's going to shape the next chapter. It's so powerful. It's just amazing when you think about that, how, how that all comes together. Yeah. And there was, there was a lot of things involved in, in that, so many other things that have been so important in my life wouldn't have happened. So yeah, you just, you just never know. You gotta, you gotta take advantage of things. How important is it then to be open to something new, a new perspective? A new opportunity that it factor that's around the corner, but it's unknown? Well, you should always be willing to try. I'm willing to try most anything once. I've jumped out of an airplane. Have you really? I have. Um, I've gone scuba diving in the ocean. I've, I've gone whale watching in a kayak. I've eaten a lot of really weird food. nothing that has involved bugs yet, so thank goodness. Yes. Um, but yeah, you have to, you have to try, you have to at least put yourself out there a little bit, you know, otherwise Yeah. You're sitting in front of a screen. What, what'd you call that? Bedro bed Rotting. Yeah. You're a man of many skills, many experiences. You've done a lot, but what would you say is the least useful skill that you possess? Oh, I would say my ability to insert a USB drive the correct way every time. Is that just a thing for all of us, or what? that's a really hard thing, a least useful skill because if it's a skill, you wouldn't think it would be less useful. yeah, I can fold a fitted sheet. Does that, does that, oh, I think that's huge. I've been on YouTube and I've been on YouTube for that and gave up or tying a bow tie. Can't do it. I cannot tie a bow tie. Oh. And I have to watch the YouTube video to tie a double Windsor. I, I just can't ever get that one. And in the Marine Corps you don't. It's a single Windsor. You right. It's around and over. Mm-hmm. all those YouTube videos with a bow tie. Even, and then it's reversed. I, it's, I need help with that. I need to seek someone who's, uh, adept in that, in that skill. Yeah. But to your point, a skill is still something good no matter what it is. But if we had to rank them Yeah. Then I'm, I'm fitted sheet. I, I think that's, that's big. That's big time. Scott Rich, as you are currently serving as the senior grand Deacon, I, I misspoke earlier as we had exchanged some messages about having you in studio earlier in the year. So you're. Position had changed since then. But as you're serving in the grand line, and as we talked a lot about the passage of time and it's going by quickly as tradition prevails, you will be in the Grand East sooner than later. What, what's your vision for the craft? What do you think our focal points should be as far as a, a healthy organization? And as we talked a lot about that, the, the connectivity with men in the world and that friendship recession. What's your take on that? Well, you know, we talk a lot about making freemasonry relevant. Um, my, my take on this whole thing is, in my lodge, and I know this is typical of other lodges, the master has his year and whether it's a good year or bad year, he's done, he's out the door. We don't see him. And I know this happens in other lodges. So really to me, that that says we're, we're missing something. And I think the relevance that we should be talking about is making our lodges relevant to their members. why are these guys going? Why do we have so many guys who only pay dues and never come? we need to figure out how to, how to bring that light back. How to get these guys motivated to come back to lodge. You know, what, what got them there to begin with, you know? And, and how did we lose that? I think my focus might want to be, let's make masonry relevant to masons, because if it's important to them, the public will see that, and that relevance has to start. In, in our lodge, we have to make the lodge important again to the members. That's a great point. And as we are visiting lodges across the state and seeing lodges very successful right now are injecting into their lodge education or into the experience resources that address, how are we helping each other navigate that rollercoaster of life as we reference so frequently? It's more than just getting together and doing the administrative portion, but really connecting on an authentic level, human to human brother to brother. I know the lodges that are doing those types of approaches are, are seeing and hearing members say, I got a lot out of this and I am not gonna miss next month's meeting. There's a relevant content there that is touching them. The heart and mind, right? Absolutely. Um, we need to help lodges do that. even the successful lodges can always use help and we need to be able to provide them with resources or encouragement or, or whatever it is we can give them to keep them uplifted. And moving forward, rather than, well, that's just how it's, we can't settle for that ever again. We have to, we have to help. It goes without saying. We owe you a huge debt of gratitude for the time and energy that you devote to Freemasonry in Minnesota and beyond, and really excited for the years ahead. Absolutely. It's my honor to serve in this line and I truly, truly enjoy every minute of it, and I'm looking forward to what's coming. Scott Rich, thank you for being in studio today. This has been another episode of Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries. I.