Date: 2017-04-04
To: Beau
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I will always remember when I first met Beau. It was in June of 1994. I was a Camp Director of our annual Cub Scout Day Camp, and Beau was a young Cub Scout who had just moved to Rolla, Missouri, from Arkansas. He was with his parents, Kim and Sue, and was wearing his blue Cub Scout uniform, complete with a red patch vest. His vest was too big for him. Following the suggestion of the Cub Scouts, it was large so he would be able to grow into it over the years. By the time Beau graduated into Boy Scouts years later, the vest fit just fine. Beau was excited and proud to be a Cub Scout, and I told him that I still had my vest from when I was a Scout. I brought my vest to show Beau at our next Cub Scout Pack meeting, and a friendship was born.        Four years later, Beau completed Cub Scouts by earning his Arrow of Light Award and joined Boy Scouts. I had become an Assistant Scout Master by this time and had helped organize a high adventure group within the troop for the scouts (and leaders) who wanted to experience more challenging, outdoor adventures. Beau immediately became involved with this group, and the other scouts quickly took him under their wings and made him, the youngest member of the group, feel welcome. During his first equipment shake down, where new backpackers bring their gear to a Scout meeting for inspection, the older scouts helped Beau go through his equipment to pare out things he didn¢t really need on the trip. Beau listened attentively and removed several heavy items. Being somewhat confident and headstrong (a characteristic that would serve him well in later years as a youth leader in the troop) Beau decided to return some of these items prior to the weekend backpacking trip. He struggled toward the end of the first day, and we decided to remove some weight from his pack to help him out. I explained that this was not unusual and that the crew all worked together for the good of all. I had to chuckle when he removed his Boy Scout handbook, complete with a leather case from his backpack. For years afterward, when we were conducting shake downs with new scouts or teaching backpacking techniques to other groups, I would always ask him: ¢Beau, do you need your Boy Scout handbook on a backpacking trip?¢ ¢Yes, Sir,¢ he would always reply. ¢And where should you carry your Boy Scout handbook, Beau?¢ ¢In your head,¢ was his answer. Being the youngest member of the adventure group, Beau was too young to attend our trek to Philmont Scout Reservation in 1999, but he participated in all of our training trips and could always be counted on the pull his weight and more. After a particularly challenging hike, conducted in the heat and humidity of a Missouri summer, I told Beau that I would hike with him anytime, anywhere. He would later participate in a Philmont trek as well as a trip to Northern Tier. Beau quickly became a leader in both the high adventure group and the troop as a whole. He was upbeat, kind, and popular, and a natural leader with the boys. He became Senior Patrol Leader in the summer of 1999 and served a six-month term. Being Senior Patrol Leader of a large troop is a demanding job, and most boys are more than happy to step down after their term. I became Scoutmaster in February of 2000 and approached Beau with a proposition. Since the troop would be undergoing a major transition of having a new adult leader, it would help if we could keep stability in the youth leadership. I asked him to consider running for the position of Senior Patrol Leader for another term. He agreed and was instrumental in the smooth transition of leadership. Four years later, my son, Stephen, would follow in Beau¢s footsteps and do the same for my replacement as Scout Master.Beau earned his Eagle Scout award. His project, a landscaping project to benefit a local retirement home, was well thought out and implemented. My daughter, Becky, worked on the project, and Beau went out of his way to make sure she felt appreciated. Beau¢s deep love for his parents was so evident during this time, particularly his Eagle Scout Ceremony. Like me, Beau wasn¢t too excited about what he called ¢pomp and circumstance,¢ but he knew what the ceremony would mean for Sue and Kim. Reflecting his love for the outdoors, however, the ceremony was held in a local park.Beau started talking about thru hiking the Appalachian Trail with me while he was still a Cub Scout. It might have even come up while I was sharing my Scout vest when he was so young. I told him how much I loved hiking and that someday I planned on hiking all the way from Georgia to Maine. He decided then and there that he would accompany me. A pipe dream, perhaps, but his decision never wavered. He always told me that somehow, someway he would arrange it so we could hike together.Tragically, Beau was hit by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle on July 3, 2003. He was very seriously injured and was never able to heal from some of his injuries. Beau passed away on March 2, 2007 as a result of these injuries. A short while later, Kim and Sue returned to Rolla with Beau¢s remains to spread his ashes at his favorite backpacking spot. A group of us hiked several miles to a bluff along the Paddy Creek trail in south central Missouri. We spent about an hour laughing, crying, and singing the silly songs that Beau loved. A single butterfly, the only one we would see all day, landed on Kim¢s shoulder and remained there for the entire time. Only when we were leaving for the return hike did the butterfly fly away. Kim and Sue told me afterward that the butterfly is the symbol of their grief support group.I will have a small vessel containing some of Beau¢s remains with me during my hike. In this small way, Beau and I will be fulfilling our promise to hike the trail together. God speed, my friend. I love you.