Well, I can remember back in 8th grade when I was introduced to Algebra and thought x and y were absurd. Then, I became comfortable with the idea of x and y and then they threw in slopes and intercepts and really started screwing with my mind. Once I got over that shock, well the rest came pretty easy to me and I started to do very well in math. I really loved to factor and would often do it in my head. I even did this mental factoring with the quadratic formula. Back then, math was easy.

I was out of college nearly sixteen years when one of my teenage daughters came to me with a factoring problem that made the rusty gears of the math portion of my brain begin to move again. Oh yes. There was a ruckus among us and I think my brain threw a rod because I couldn't remember how to complete the square when factoring.  I had to reteach myself how to do this after picking through her book for several minutes and came to the conclusion that I  should relearn  all of the math I... forgot.

I've been back in school for almost a year now. I now live in Tennessee and attend a local community college in an effort to go through my maths again. Community college is very affordable and I am grateful that they exist. Vanderbilt, Belmont, UT, MTSU, TSU, and Austin Peay are all nearby, but I can't afford the tuition just to simply refresh my math through the standard three calculus'. I hope to transfer to one of these schools next year to earn my master's in math, but for now, I have to go where the credit hour is more affordable.

I said all of that simply because I'm taking math classes again. I tried to start at the bottom with elementary algebra, but the school wasn't having any of that. My transcripts showed that I had already taken more advanced mathematics at the university level, but I begged and complained that I had been out of college to remember any of it, so they let me take a test, which I tried to fail enough to start me over without being in too low of a math class and ended up in intermediate algebra which is still a developmental course and I got to relearn a few things as well as a different approach or two when using algebra. In retrospect, I should have started with college algebra.

I'm now taking a pre-calculus class and a stats/probability class which are new to me. The pre-calculus class covers trigonometry and such, but the book is geared around physics for engineering students and it confuses the hell out of me to see 'j' used for imaginary numbers instead of 'i', but I make do. The stats class is eye opening. I've never taken a class like this and who would of thought that it doesn't pay to play a dice game where you pay $1 for the chance to win $3 and all you have to do is roll a two or five on a six sided die. I'm embarrassed to say I thought the player had pretty good odds until I took this class.

I'm toying with the idea of taking a finite math class just to go over truth tables and logic problems along with calculus over the summer. I will probably take physics with calculus at the same time just to pad my credit hours (thwppttt). That will let me finish up the calculus class this year and head back to the university level next year.

I'm not sure what math classes I will take at the graduate level. My worry is that math no longer comes as naturally as it did all of those years ago. I do the homework, score in the 90's on the tests, but math ain't easy like it used to be and I am skeptical that I can work fifty hours a week and still maintain my 4.0 gpa. If anyone is actually reading this, I would appreciate your thoughts on classes that you may have taken that would not be too taxing on a working man's mind. It would be great to hear from someone who has attended one of the universities that I mentioned earlier.

My advice to the younger generation is simply this. Learn all of the math that you possibly can before you're twenty five. Otherwise, it's like trying to become a grandmaster at chess by first learning to play in your twenties.

Thanks for reading...   <begin the chorus of the crickets>

Well, it's a rare occasion that a sitting Grandmaster has the time to visit a lodge so far from his home lodge, but White Bluff Lodge #676 of the State of Tennessee will be blessed by his attendance on March the 8th, 2008. Along with his normal suite, he will be accompanied by the Current Grandmaster of the State of South Carolina to witness the raising of the son of a Past Grandmaster of the State of South Carolina who will also be in attendance. Though his presence comes with a great deal of formalities, I would like to mention that this is truly a man who views everyone on the level. This will be the third time I've had the opportunity to meet him and eagerly look forward to his visit.

I was raised a Master Mason in November 2007 and I'm currently serving as Senior Warden of our lodge after serving my first year as Jr. Steward. This is indeed a huge leap across the chairs and it is an enormous honor that the lodge elected me for so esteemed a chair in such a short time. I owe a great deal of debt to Worshipful, Brother Marion McBride for all the time he spent with me teaching me my lectures and sharing the knowledge necessary for me to earn my proficiency card within my first year. I would be remiss if I failed to thank the brothers of Fairview Lodge #776, the brothers of Iron Lodge #503, and my personal hero, John Pugh for seeing that I had ample opportunities to practice my ritual work.

So, if you happen to be in the area, feel free to stop by for dinner at 6pm and if you are a Master Mason, then I invite you to stay for the degree and meet some of the finest men in Tennessee. I look forward to meeting you.