Ed was one of my early mentors and directly responsible for me starting The Pro Shop in 1998. Beyond his incredible creativity and professional experience, I still marvel at how generous he was with me and many others.
I had the good fortune to visit Ed and Bobbi’s home in Virginia Beach on several occasions. The first time was when I took Ed’s 3-day seance workshop; the workshop was an exceptional experience, to be sure, but the true value was in spending time well into the wee hours of the night with Ed and having him share his years of seemingly-inexhaustible knowledge.
One of my favorite Ed stories took place in 2016 when I picked Ed up on my way to the first East Coast Spirit Sessions convention in Myrtle Beach. During Mark Strivings’ lecture, Mark shared the old joke of “What’s this?” while holding his hand in a claw-like posture, fingers pointing up. “It’s a dead one of these,” Mark continued, reversing the claw, so his fingers pointed down. The audience chuckled, and Mark started to proceed with his lecture.
He didn’t get very far, though, because somewhere in the audience, the sound of uncontrollable laughter was redirecting all attention away from the stage. Looking over to the other side of the room to see the source of the commotion, I saw Ed laughing hysterically, tears streaming down his face… and his laughter was so contagious that many of us, myself included, were soon in tears as well. I don’t remember anything else from Mark’s as-usual excellent lecture, but I’ll never forget the experience of seeing Ed lose it, or of joining him in that moment of sheer abandon.
I sure do miss that man.
Regards,
Loren