Lee Parks Remembers Scott Gowland

For those who could not attend the Scott Gowland's funeral, this is the eulogy written and read for Scott by endurance teammate Lee Parks.

Risks

To laugh -is to risk appearing the fool To weep - is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another - is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings - is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd - is to risk their loss.
To love - is to risk not being loved in return.
To live - is to risk dying.
To hope - is to risk despair.
To try - is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing,has nothing, and is nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live...
Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave, they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free…

--Janet Rand.

Much more than close friend and teammate, Scott Gowland was both a student and a teacher to me. When he first approached me about racing some regional races with Alan and himself, he wanted to learn as much riding technique as he could from me, and promised that we would finish well, and, above all, have a blast doing it. An intriguing offer from someone I didn’t know all that well at the time, especially because he offered to take care of all the bike maintenance and transportation details. All I had to do was show up and help him with his riding. Of course, I said yes.

As I would come to find out, this kind of win-win deal was very typical of how Scott would enroll people into doing what he wanted. He would simply keep adding value to your life until you could no longer refuse him. Telling him “no” didn’t stop him. In his mind, it simply meant he was unclear as to the full benefit of his proposal, and would explain it to you in as many different ways as it would take until you understood why it was a “no-brainer” to say yes. Anyone who knew him found themselves saying “yes” to him on a regular basis.

Scott was one of those rare pioneering souls who never saw anything as impossible. Where others would see a problem and ask "Why?", Scott would think of a solution and ask "Why not?" His ability to live life to the fullest was eclipsed only by his ability to contribute to those in need. Those of us who were blessed enough to have him in our daily lives will never be the same. But all of us can learn from his profound example of love of life and compassion for his fellow man. I have no doubt that this attitude accounted for his success both on and off the track.

If the typical successful man reaches for the stars and is content when he touches the moon. Scott, by comparison, would reach for the stars, and not give up until he touched them all, and made each one a little brighter. Such is the mark of a superior man.

I think what I will miss most about Scott, are our spirited discussions on religion. Although we came from different backgrounds, Scott was always the first to point out how similar they were. And no matter how sound of an argument I would make on the differences, he refused to entertain ANY idea that could be misconstrued as divisive or non-brotherly. Although I would often play Devil’s advocate to his arguments for the sheer exhilaration of the debate, given the recent tragedy in New York and Washington D.C., his logic has never been more clear nor as poignant.

Godspeed Scott. We will do our best to follow your lead and not let you down by losing sight of what's important in life. Although everyone follows their own path to enlightenment, like you, I'm proud to take that journey on a motorcycle.

–-Lee Parks