My spiritual direction practice is in honor of my father, whose sheer zest for life was an enormous blessing of mine.

A legendary harpoon swordfisherman turned girl dad who drove me to karate class on his motorcycle, quizzed me relentlessly on multiplication tables (7x7=49!), and encouraged my creativity through as many art supplies my heart desired.

He took me tidepooling for sea stars, stopped traffic to usher turtles crossing the road, and wept when our miniature poodle went blind. His bedtime stories starred flying stallions and Igor the friendly green fire-breathing dragon.

An aging hippie who protested extensively for justice across the country during the civil rights era, he and my mom instilled in me those values and ideals with fierce conviction. Of what the world could be, ought to be, should be, for all of us. Filled with beauty, equity, harmony.

He sculpted a magnificent fifty foot steel sailboat for half his lifetime. Witnessing it become made every day of my childhood magical. He was also a brilliant machinist at BU’s physics department designing and building intricate scientific instruments.

Extremely connected to his intuition, his Bob-isms were simple: “Be happy, be yourself, follow your heart.”

He seemed to be everybody’s closest confidante, not only mine. A salt-of-the-earth sea captain who wore his heart on his sleeve, people sought his advice for complex projects that required an elegant solution, guidance through personal quagmires, steady company through unspeakable loss, sense of humor for a memorable good time. His presence is deeply missed.

I don't know many people who are true to themselves as fearlessly as my father lived every single day of his life. He was the purest embodiment of his divinity as it gets. Fully alive.

My ministry feels like a direct pass of the torch from my dad. For better or worse, I inherited his intense drive to strive to be the very best version of myself and savor life to the absolute fullest. Without him, it’s taken a lot more courage to tend to my inner fire. The solace I’ve drawn through remembering his life fuels my determination to be a lighthouse for others just as he was.

1-4-3 Daddy ☀️