In Search of What is Lost

My interest in Freemasonry began in southern California. I found that I was lacking friends of good character who were like minded in their morals and work ethic. That's a challenge anywhere, but it can be especially difficult in a big city, especially one as laid back as Los Angeles.

My Great Grandfather; Everett Hiram Langile was a Freemason in New York City. I grew up hearing bits and pieces of his story; dressing in his best to go to Grand Lodge, that he was a "high level Mason", and the most curious; that he was buried in his white Masonic apron.

I started to look into service organizations in and around LA to help in my goals of meeting some more interesting and upright people; Rotary Club, Lions etc. I hadn't even thought of the Masons, or my Great Grandfather, until I saw an article about how my favorite musician, Jack White. He donated $250,000 to save "The Detroit Masonic Temple". This piqued my interest and I started to do more research on the Masons.  Who they are, what they stand for and if this could help me find what I was lacking in my life.

I took to the internet and started to research this ancient fraternal organization. I found a surprisingly large amount of information available and even found the addresses of many lodges within a quick drive from my home and office. I thought these guys were supposed to be under the cover of secrecy!

The further my research took me, the more I realized that Masonry could possibly provide that social support structure I was seeking. However it was their philosophy and spiritual ideals that made me realize I was missing a lot more than just a better group of friends, but that I had lost sight of something deeper in myself as well.

The title of this blog; "In Search of What is Lost" is as much a Masonic reference as it is to the journey I began over a year ago, searching for that lost part of myself.