St ThoMASONtario **** For Masons in the “St Thomas Ontario” District **** Volume XVlll-2 March 2012 Editor’s remarks: Welcome to the March issue. I am certainly not complaining about the weather, and sincerely hope we have seen the end of the season, but where did the snow go? I think Europe got it, and we should thank them for taking it. Note the official visits below and try to attend them all. I have also give advance notice to St Thomas Lodge 44 installation in May. Masonic Education this month is very different to normal. It pertains to your loved female companions, but some of it, particularly the numbered paragraphs are accurate for all of us. Scary, but oh so true. Please read and let the females in your life read it. I trust you enjoy the Newsletter this month. Official Visits: Wednesday, March 6th 2012 Warren Lodge 120 Fingal: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20th 2012 Dufferin Lodge 364, Melbourne: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 10th 2012 St. Mark’s Lodge 94, Port Stanley: 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 18th 2012 Malahide Lodge 140, Aylmer: 8:00 p.m. This is the D.D.G.M.s, home lodge and R.W.Bro. Bil Segui will be making his last official visit for 2012. Try to attend and support him and the members of Malahide Lodge. Installation: St. Thomas Lodge 44 will be having their installation and investiture of officers on Tuesday May 3rd at 7:30 p.m. in the Masonic Hall, St Thomas. I am sure the outgoing officers and the incoming W.M. and his officers will give you a warm welcome. Support the Lodge by attending this auspicious occasion. Upcoming Events: Saturday, March 24th, 2012 Lodge of Instruction St. Thomas Masonic Temple ;Doors Open: 8:30 a.m.; Program – 8:59 a.m – 12:00 p.m. Saturday, April 14th, 2012 St. Thomas Masonic District Meeting St. Thomas Masonic Temple; Breakfast: 7:30 a.m.; Meeting: 8:30 a.m. Friday May 11th 2012. St. Thomas District Fish Fry 9705 Tower Rd., St. Thomas (Residence of W. Bro. John Karns) Social 5:00 to 7:00pm. Fish Fry to follow. Wednesday July 18th 2012. Bus To Grand Lodge There will be a bus to Grand Lodge leaving at 7:30am, July 18th, from the Elgin Mall. The cost is $50 and must be paid by May 31st. If insufficient amounts are received by this date, the bus will be cancelled and all funds will be returned. Masonic Education: Female Heart Attacks I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read. We should all let our wives, mothers, sisters, children know about this. The points mentioned towards the end may ALSO save your life. St ThoMASONtario Newsletter Page 2 Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction). Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack? You know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies? Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack. 'I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion; NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up. A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the oesophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation--the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m. After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack! I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else... But, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment. I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialled the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in. I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery. I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stints. Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? It is because I want all of you who St ThoMASONtario Newsletter Page 3 are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand. 1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body, not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up... which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be! 2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics' and if you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road. Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr will be notified later. 3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive. A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life. *Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends (male & female) who you care about!* A Thank You to V.W.Bro. George Leverton, Warren Lodge 120, Fingal. Blood Donor Clinic: Let us not forget that Blood is an essential part of the body and that a mason who gives blood is proving his N.E. angle in the first degree. Remember every third Wednesday is blood donor day in St. Thomas. Please, if you can, be a good mason. Laugh for the month: Walmart Senior Greeter Charley, a new retiree-greeter at Wal-Mart, just couldn't seem to get to work on time. Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes late. But he was a good worker, really tidy, cleanshaven, sharp-minded and a real credit to the company and obviously demonstrating their "Older Person Friendly" policies One day the boss called him into the office for a talk. "Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang-up job, but your being late so often is quite bothersome." "Yes, I know boss, and I am working on it." "Well good, you are a team player. That's what I like to hear. It's odd though your coming in late. I know you're retired from the Armed Forces. What did they say if you came in late there?" "They said, "Good morning, Admiral, can I get you coffee, sir?" St. Thomas District Freemason’s MasoniChip Clinic By: Rick Cadotte, FCF, St. Mark’s Lodge #94, St. Thomas District St ThoMASONtario Newsletter Page 4 On Sunday, November 27, 2011, St. Mark’s Lodge #94, and St. David’s Lodge #302 held a joint MasoniChip Clinic, held at Formet Industries Annual Children’s Christmas Party in St. Thomas, Ontario. This is the first such event held at this Christmas party. The clinic identified a total of 95 children for the benefit of their parents. The feedback from the parents and from Formet Industies has been very positive. The volunteers worked endlessly and with the utmost professionalism. After all that, the volunteers still found a way to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. The volunteers represented many Lodges within the district and we all worked together in peace and harmony to help these families. Thank you everyone !! L-R: Dylan & Jake Hawksworth, Jim Leadbetter,Terry Ronald, Rob Ronald, Carol Powers, Mike Hawksworth, Dan Powers, John Armstrong, Nancy Singer, Larry & Lynda Cowie, Melanie Baumann, Ron Bennett, Rick Cadotte, Graham & Ann Birkin, Caren Armstrong, Ed Baker, Tim Harvey, Jay Brandt, and Dean Paddon. Absent from the photo were Peter & Sherri Matthews. St ThoMASONtario Newsletter Page 5 Quote for the Month: It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived!!!!! Life is important, like people we know who are special; and so we keep them close! ~Going out is good.. Coming home is better! Something to consider: If Freemasonry is to command respect in the Community, then the man who wears the Masters Hat must be one who can command respect. The Master of the Lodge is the symbol of Freemasonry in his community. If he is not a man upon whom intelligent people may look with admiration, then we need not expect to reap a harvest of petitions from intelligent men. Make no mistake, men judge Freemasonry by what they see wearing Masonic emblems (rings, pins, watches). They judge a Lodge by the caliber of its leadership. If we persist, year after year, in putting our worst foot forward, then we can expect to continue getting just what we are getting now. From the booklet “Whither are we Travelling” by P.G.M. Dwight L. Smith, Grand Lodge of Indiana. St ThoMASONtario Newsletter Page 6 Go ahead, have another laugh: Website address: www.stthomasfreemasonry.com Webmaster: The webmaster is now: W.Bro. David Anderson, e-mail: [email protected]. Welcome to technology, David. He has the website currently under construction. Give him some time and I am sure his efforts will be well worth the wait. In conclusion: Anything you want to include? To keep the Newsletter interesting and informative I need information. Masters, Secretaries, anyone, please forward any snippets of information you have. Any moans, groans or kudos? Contact the editor at: Mailing Address: Box 231, Melbourne, ON. N0L 1T0 Phone: 519-289-2117 E-mail: [email protected] Always arrive alive. 12-02-24