Brethren:

Some interesting food for thought for all of us who were born prior to 1945: Consider the changes that we have witnessed. We were before television, before polio shots, frozen foods, xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the PILL. We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ballpoint pens; before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air-conditioners, drip-dry clothing and before Man walked on the Moon. We got married first and then lived together, how quaint!

In out times, closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of." Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagons. Designer jeans were scheming girls named Jean or Jeanne, and having a meaningful relationship meant getting along well with our cousins. We thought fast food was what you ate during Lent, and Outer Space was the back of the local theater.

We were before house-husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers and commuter marriages. We were before day-care centers, group therapy and nursing homes. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt, and guys wearing earrings. For us time-sharing meant togetherness not computers or condominiums. A"chip" meant a piece of wood; hardware meant hardware; and software wasn't even a word!

In 1940, "Made in Japan" meant junk and the term "making out" referred to how you did on an exam. Pizzas, "McDonalds" and instant coffee were unheard of. We could go to a five and ten cent store and buy items for a nickel or a dime. For a nickel you could make a phone call, or by a Pepsi or buy enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards. Remember when smoking a cigarette was fashionable, grass was mowed, Coke was a cold drink, pot was something you cooked in, and AIDS were helpers in the principal's office?

No wonder we are so confused and there is such a generation gap! But we survived, what a better reason to celebrate?

Our lodge is in for a new ripple. As of December, 1999, we will be moving to Lyndhurst to hold our meetings. Our new address will be 321 Second Avenue, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071. The reason for the move is that the First Presbyterian Church of North Arlington is selling the building in which we currently meet. As we must move, we looked for a lodge room that was convenient air-conditioned, had a large parking lot, a good sized collation room, and that would allow us to store our lodge property. The men of AHWRS #80 have given us the opportunity to use their facilities this is a new wave of our future.

Fraternally,

John Lacki Jr.
Worshipful Master