In closing, as at a Council Fire in camp, let me share a poem with you, especially those who've trod Gilwell's fair field, and ask that as you return from reading this posting to the other things you are doing that we always remember that we are fulfilling BP's vision of producing healthy, happy, helpful citizens, of both sexes, to eradicate narrow self- interest, personal, political, sectarian and national and substitute for it a broader spirit of self-sacrifice and service in the cause of humanity; that we never forget our obligation of service; and for those who wear the beads - that we always cherish all that is symbolized in Wood Badge by the axe in the log:
A SPIRIT
"Be quiet - listen -stand real still.
Is that really the breeze?
Or is it the spirit of Wood Badge
That rustles through the trees?
"At the close of this council fire,
As you return to your campsite,
Take a minute and stand alone
And think about this night.
"There's a spirit here that surrounds us
From without and within.
It's a flame that will burn forever
Its brightness will never dim.
"And when we work for others,
And help to fill their needs,
Let no one say that Scouter there
Has never earned his beads!
"May all our goals be accomplished
May we never stumble or bog,
And may all of us be guided
By the ax set in the log."
Jerry Fabricius
"In my dreams I'm going back to Gilwell . . . ." See you soon.
Speaking only for myself in the Scouting Spirit,
Michael F. Bowman Prof. Beaver, Nat. Capital Area Council, BSA
mfbowman@CAPACCESS.ORG