10/25/2025
A sincere thank you to all who helped out this weekend. It was a tough one - a long, cold night - but it was a blessed sight to see the kitchen full of people today. I know I don’t communicate well publicly, but this event would not have been successful without the help of all the Lodge brothers and their ladies who participated today. A special thank you to Tim Hall for his patience, knowledge, and fortitude. We are still the apprentice Mason BBQ’rs and are blessed to have his guidance (and no, I didn’t set anything on fire this time!). To Brian and Ben Chambers for fixing the finicky stew boiler gas system - I still think the garden hose idea is still on the table (lol). To Matt Ivey Sr. for the removal of the “blight” and the emergency delivery of the firewood (another lesson learned). Although you are a member of Rex Lodge, in the end, we are all brothers of this wonderful charitable organization. 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity". Michael Brown for the donation of his lower spine for the greater good. I talked to a Shriner, and I think we can get you up to Greenville. Lawrence Bloodworth and Andrew Dowdy for jumping in and getting things done. Jerry Strickland - Duke of mayonnaise, the Earl of cabbage, the MacGyver of coleslaw making. The only person I know who has never used a recipe, but just commands, "Go get me one jar of this and five more pounds of that, and some salt - the kind that comes in that round-looking box!" The ladies - where do I start? You put up with a group of knuckleheads who obviously should be starring in a "Three Stooges" movie, listen to our yapping ideas, smile, and just think, "Yes, sweetheart, that might sound like a great idea, but this is how we’re going to do it!" Although some won’t admit it, I will step up and say that yes, they are usually right. I got a phone call from a lady this morning around 10 am asking, "Is today the day the Masons are having their BBQ?" I told her yes, ma’am, it is. She yelled, "Oh my gosh! I have been waiting YEARS for y’all to have a BBQ again!" I told her the time we would start, and she was ecstatic, saying she was "On her way!" Sometimes we don’t really know how we impact our community, and how much they appreciate our efforts. However, if we can find a way to be kind to just one person each day - what an impact there would be in this crazy world we live in. We learned some lessons this weekend. Nothing that can’t be overcome in the future. Here’s to next year! May the weather be fair, and the butts cook fast.
