Bryan Speed, 33°
650 W. S. Service Road, West Memphis, Arkansas 72301–2019

A "divining rod" anecdote suggests that in Masonry, as in life, we should never stop short of reaching our desired goals in life.

Growing up during the years of the Great Depression, one seldom heard a lot of good news or witnessed innovative ideas to enrich and improve life. However, there was an ample supply of folk tales, cure-all remedies, and time-honored practices that had been passed on from one generation to another. One such practice was the "divining rod," a device used to locate underground water.

Our need for using such a device became evident when one well at a tenant house on our farm dried up and a source of water was urgently needed. Fortunately for my father, there was a man in a nearby community who was known for his ability to locate water with a divining rod. I recall my mother being somewhat skeptical about this "voodoo practice," as she called it. However, my father prevailed in this discussion, as he most often did, and shortly thereafter acquired the service of this questionable character. In short order, the divining rod and its owner were put to the test. The rod was a stick about three or four feet long in the shape of a Y. The diviner held the two ends of the Y in his hands while holding the rod horizontal to the ground. He then paced slowly back and forth across our land. Soon, the rod's tip, as if by its own motivation, dipped toward the ground. The spot was marked and my father assured by the divining rod's owner that he should strike a good stream of water at or about 30 feet.

With three hired hands, several shovels, picks and a large bucket, the long and laborious task of digging a well was begun. After several days of digging, they approached the 30-foot level, but still no water. Upon checking with his soothsayer, my father was told to "dig a little deeper." In the process of digging a few feet further, they struck the predicted stream of water. In fact, the stream was so good that the well diggers were knee-deep in water before they could be hauled topside. In a couple of days, the well was nearly full, and, to my knowledge, this well is still providing water at this site. From that time onward, the phrase "dig a little deeper" became a good and practical rule for many of my endeavors.

This narrative was not written in an effort to prove or disprove any scientific validity that may or may not be involved in using a divining rod. Rather, it confirms the results in this one incident and, more importantly, shows that we should never stop short of reaching our desired goals in life.

Since becoming a Mason, I have witnessed many young men receive the Entered Apprentice Degree and never progress any further. Others take the Fellowcraft and Master Mason Degrees but never become active in any phase of Masonry. The same is true for the Scottish Rite Degrees. Such actions do increase our membership rolls but mostly with men who are Masons in name only. Many of these men seem to view Masonry as a cloak of distinction, which can be put on or taken off as the need arises. By such limited involvement, they barely scrape the topsoil of Masonry and never discover the enjoyment, satisfaction, and fulfillment Masonry has to offer.

Fortunately, there are members who labor daily in the quarries of Masonry, always doing what is right, forever combating the ills of our society, and never substituting excuses for service. These are the real Masons who are not afraid to "dig a little deeper" in their endeavors. Through Masonic practice, patience and perseverance, they discover the life fulfillment possible through Freemasonry.