Today has been a real bad day for me...

My Cousin, who was also one of my best friends, passed away today.  He was the sitting Worshipful Master of Pyramid Lodge #92, New Egypt, NJ and was one of the recommenders on my petition.  I remember when I got voted in, I called him right away; he was so excited to hear that I was accepted and told me that he would be there at every single one of my degrees.  He was also telling me how we could go and sit in on other lodges together.

I was so looking forward to practicing my catechisms under his tutelage and finally being able to call him Brother...

Jeffrey J. Morelli was 38 years old, a husband, a father to two beautiful girls, a friend and a great man.  He enjoyed all things colonial; we shot muzzle loaders and flintlocks together; he was a member of the NJ Frontier Guard, NJ Muzzleloaders Association and the NJ Blacksmiths association.  In fact he was teaching me how to blacksmith and was helping me set up my own shop.  His workshop, now idle in the absence of its master, stands testament to how he practice his craft - out of the thousands of tools in there, the only ones using electricity are a drill press and a grinder.  A true master and a believer in the "simple life" - this world has lost one of its true greats.  He will be forever missed.

My only comfort right now is knowing he's at peace and in a better place - the Lodge on High.  I can see him now, forging away up in that great smithy in the sky... if only he could build a staircase back to us, things would be so much better right now.