Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner: An Evening with Psychic Medium Robert Hansen

When my friend, Chris, asked me to meet her for an open reading at a local restaurant, I said, “Sure! What time?” Because I’m always up for hanging out whenever we can, not because I thought someone from The Other Side would join us for Rigatoni a la Vodka and cheesecake.

I arrived at Jameson’s a little after six and the place was packed. We were seated with a group of other women (and one man) and chatted convivially between bites. “I’m hoping my mother comes through,” said a lady on the opposite side of the table. “I’d like to hear from my grandfather,” another added. I could hear similar remarks being made at nearby tables, as well.

While I’d never scoff at anyone’s hopes of an other-worldly encounter, I didn’t feel compelled to chime in with a list of my own dearly departed. So I just listened and nodded, contributing to the conversation whenever the topic changed to the secular. Honestly, I’m a skeptic when it comes to this kind of stuff. I really just went along to spend some time with my girlfriend and have a nice meal.

Just before seven-thirty, an announcement was made that Robert Hansen—the psychic medium making a special appearance—would be coming out shortly. We were advised, if he approached us, to respond with “yes” and “no” answers. “Do not provide Robert with any information,” the emcee said. “He doesn’t want it and he doesn’t need it.”

When Robert came into the restaurant, before he started the readings, he told us a little about himself—

• He has always been a spiritual person, though his psychic abilities didn’t really manifest until he was in his 40s.
• He’s married with four children, one of whom is autistic.
• He was a special education elementary school teacher for many years and continues to work with physically-challenged youngsters when possible.
• He began studying the martial arts in his teens and eventually opened his own school.
• He was an athletics coach for 20 years.
• He went to Harvard…to participate in a study pertaining to psychic phenomena/abilities. The findings? There is atypical activity in Robert’s brain that could be measured, but not explained.
• He did a show for TLC called “Paranormal Court.”

I don’t really know what I expected, but Robert is a regular guy. And funny, too. I thought, Ha! I like him. At the very least, tonight will be entertaining.

First, Robert focused his attention on a group across the room and next on a handful of women at a table behind me. I don’t want to comment on other people’s experiences. But I will say they seemed pleased with and/or comforted by his readings, which piqued my interest.

Then Robert said, “I need to get to that corner.” Once he made his way around, he posed questions to a few of us at one end of the table. The first one didn’t (initially) resonate with me. Then he said, “Who lost someone who was buried with a pack of cigarettes?” I got the chills. We put a pack of cigarettes in one of my father’s suit pockets during his wake.

I raised my hand and Robert asked if I wanted him to continue or if I’d prefer he stop. I told him to go ahead and he asked if my dad had heart issues. (He did.) Robert then said, “You weren’t there when he passed away.” I insisted I was and he said, “No, I’m right…you weren’t there. He says he wouldn’t have gone with you there.” And actually, I wasn’t there when he died; I was in New York and my dad was in Maryland.

Next Robert said, “Someone in your family was born with a birth defect.” I responded, “Yes. How do you know that?” He told me my dad was holding him and gestured with his arms, illustrating the way one would hold a small child. I never told Robert it was my brother or that he was a little boy when he died. He shared a few more things with me before moving on to some of the other people at my table.

Honestly, I still don’t know what to make of it. But he knew things. And that surprised me.

If you’d like to witness his readings firsthand, you’re in luck. Robert routinely does special appearances throughout Long Island and is currently scheduled at the following venues:

July 25: Sergio’s Italian Restaurant in Massapequa

July 26: Il Bacetto Ristorante in Seaford

July 28: Frank's Steaks in Rockville Centre

August 3: The Sly Fox Inn in Flushing

August 4: The Rosewood Inn in Melville

August 8: Sergio’s Italian Restaurant in Massapequa

August 9: Malverne Cinema in Malverne

August 10: The LVI Bistro in Locust Valley

(To purchase tickets, please contact the venues directly. Due to the number of people who come to these events, public readings are not a given. For information on private readings, workshops and more, visit Robert’s website, www.robertehansen.com.)