Psalm 133

Last night was a very special night for me on many levels.  A good friend of mine- Tom Dement- made the drive up from Nashville to initiate my father into my fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.  That sentence can be dissected on a lot of levels.  I appreciated the fact that Tom would take time off of work and drive all the way up here for this occasion.  I was thankful and honored that Tom played such a large role in the initiation for my father.  Most of all, im so grateful that now my father is a "brother" too.  While he may never have crazy stories from his fraternities days, he can't claim to have met his wife through the fraternity, and he doesn't have a true pledge class-  Dad is now a member of the largest fraternity in the country, the first founded in the south, the same fraternity as me. 

In theory Dad had the option to join a fraternity in college.  Because of his financial situation he couldn't afford to do it.  Plus, he was already with Mom, at that time he had the desire to be a world famous doctor, and also was a first generation college student.  Fraternities just were not a priority.  I am very thankful for those circumstances now.  I tried to bring him around to a few events in college just so he could get a glimpse of what it was like for me. In reality, no matter how many events you bring someone to, it can never fully do the brotherhood aspect justice.  If I could wrap it up in a box and give it as a gift, I would.  That way people who are not part of it- could begin to understand what SAE is all about.  Too often you read the negative headlines about members who make bad choices and then people assume that is the way they all are.  But truth be told with that I could be talking about the Priesthood, Cops, Military, parents, etc. also.  In reality it couldn't be further from the truth.  Dad saw a big part of this when he came up last year and prayed with the chapter at Cincinnati when a brother committed suicide in the chapter house.  They welcomed him in with open arms and heavy hearts, and he in return comforted them.  When other good fraternity brothers of mine have suffered deep personal loss this past year I almost always have them call Dad- regardless of the fact they didn't know each other.  He has become the Chaplain for this area of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.  Most importantly he has now become their brother.  He now knows the intimate details of what makes Sigma Alpha Epsilon different according to our ritual.  He knows the handshake, Phi Alpha, and the meaning of our name.  I was very proud of Dad last night for being open enough to join our order.  Last night the almost 300,000 members welcomed him into our brotherhood.  Congrats Dad, remember brotherhood is for life.  Just please, don't rush out and get an SAE tattoo.