At Bob Guskind's Memorial

'Taking Flight Over the Gowanus Canal'
I took this photo back in February. Bob linked it to Gowanus Lounge
almost immediately. It would be one of the last times.

Memorials are always full of emotion. Celebrating someone's life after their passing is bittersweet and a wonderful tribute. Bob Guskind's memorial on Saturday at the Lycéum was exactly that, and so much more.
Organized by his dear friends Norman ( Atlantic Yards Report), Heather ( New York Shitty), Chris ( (Flatbush Gardener), Susan ( Park Slope Parents), Phil (New York Community Council) and many others, it was a lovely gathering to honor the author of Gowanus Lounge.

So many of his fellow bloggers attended. Some knew him personally, some had only corresponded with him. All feel his absence keenly. His blog was an online 'lounge' where Brooklynites who felt that their beloved borough was being taken over by the interests of politicians and developers could gather and exchange ideas.
And Bob was the perfect host, posting tirelessly, finding Brooklyn's beauty in the most decaying places and delighting in its many quirks.

Through all the wonderful tributes, a portrait of Bob emerged: that of a highly intelligent, talented and giving man, who may have had to battle his inner self just a bit more than the rest of us.

During the memorial, I had the incredible pleasure of meeting one of Bob's dearest and oldest friends, Marc Farre. We had exchanged a few emails after Bob's passing and it was clear that he was a kindred spirit. Meeting him in person yesterday confirmed this immediately.

I was also delighted to see Kristin (and her adorable baby daughter) of Best View In Brooklyn Louise of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Nate Kensinger of Nate Kensinger Photography, Lumi of No Land Grab , Brooks of Lost City , Triada Samaris of C.O.R.D., Jake of Gothamist, Lockhart of Curbed, to name just a very few.