I have always been a dreamer ... day dreaming ... night dreaming ... always dreaming. As a kid I even believed that I was a superhero and could fly, always putting a towel around my neck and flailing my arms in the air like a nut. I made "utility belts" out of anything that would go around my waist ... always having imaginary fights with imaginary foes ... always believing in some magic or "superpower."

At one point, my mother even told me 'STOP using your imagination! Just one time, live in reality!' I tried it for a while, but it was not as fun and fulfilling, so I continued to dream, but I just lost the cape.

As I got older -- notice how I did not say "matured" -- I learned that dreams couldn’t come true until you wake up and do something about them and work towards that end. You cannot fly until someone practical says 'Well, let's look at the thing called "gravity."'

You cannot build a skyscraper higher and higher before you have a firm foundation. You cannot inquire ‘why not?’ without having the people stating ‘Here’s how.’ Both sets are crucial to dreams becoming reality.

So when I had the idea of the scholarship fund, practical people asked how was it going to happen and when I smiled and said I would ride across the USA, they looked at me and said 'Well that is nice, but what is your plan?'

And with that, a lot of work, planning, talking/fussing and passion for the cause commenced and it was a success. I was the face and the superhero, but in no way was I the superpower. You were! Everyone in this room who said 'Dave you can do it' and 'Here is a suggestion and a dollar on how to do it better' or everyone who told a friend or reporter about what was happening and they contributed a dollar or a story or a talent is the superpower. YOU are the superpower in this cause ... this living, breathing entity called the Kevin Bowser Scholarship Fund.

This fund, this idea, is beyond Kevin. Kevin is the name on the scholarship, but this is about my father, my friends, your family, your friends, our influences, our passions and our willingness to make a better Philadelphia and a better world.

This idea is flying ... flying higher and higher, but not because of magic or some utility belt or some fabric that is fashioned as a cape, but by the fabric of humanity. You guys are my cape, my utility belt, my superpower. Without you, your well wishes, your energy -- and, yes, your money -- this does not fly. I cannot bike up a mountain in a million single bounds or out-pedal a slow moving pedestrian without you and your help

Be my cape! And like a cape, I need you to protect my back. Protect me by giving me good energy. Protect me by being nicer. Protect me by being better, stronger, and more helpful. I will watch the front, but I need you to get to 'get my back!'

Thanks for everything, hug yourselves and I will see you in May.

Peace, love & strength,

David