Robin Beck

Like Michael / Reverend Ryuei, I do not really know what to say. So far, I have commented randomly at others' blogs. I have feelings / emotions; however I am not one to express sentiments, not until I can sort them out. My initial reaction was this can not be real. Like Ryuei, I wondered if Greg were "pranking." I only met Greg on line; I e-knew him. Getting to know people via cyberspace is sort of strange. We do sort of get to know each other on some level; we learn what to expect. I do not even recall on which forum I e-met Greg, or when that was; maybe Chris Holte's irgosho group? I am not one of the ARBN veterans. I did not get involved on line until 2002, that was with the SGI-USA Reform group. Anyway, Greg was one of the stronger personalities, whose posts had an impact, and carried a sort of identifiable aura or imprint.

At first Greg struck me as glib; what Chris Holte calls 'abrupt,' perhaps even a tad abrasive. He also seemed impatient. I do not mean in the sense of intolerant; I just got the impression he did not like piddling around, tentativeness, indecisiveness, and so on. If a moderator gave him excessive grief at a forum, he was out of there. I liked this, his swift directness; and invited to him to some of my e-groups. He joined and took the time to comment. Soon after that, Greg invited me to a private SGI list. One day he wrote and asked if I wanted a blog, I replied sure, asked what he needed, and where do I log in to start writing. It was done just like that. So I have the idea he was a doer; certainly not a procrastinator.

This is not say he was not a thinker as well. It took a while for me to get his humor, the depth of his nuanced sense of irony -- should I say sarcasm? He gave me some grief a couple times, and I was not sure how to take it. So I asked, and he told me. There may have been a time or two when I am rubbed him the wrong way, or he wondered what I meant by something. He would ask me about it, and accept my answer. He was not one of those who would try to tell me what I was really thinking. He might have disagreed with me, and e-said so, but did not try to put words in my mouth. He also seemed to accept disagreement without being excessively disagreeable.

One thing I began to notice about Greg was that it was not all about him. He was apparently genuinely interested in others, what they thought; what pushed their buttons; what made them tick. With some of the personalities one encounters on line, or in real time, they seem to feign interest in others; when it is really about them. Greg was definitely not like that. There was a time, in a study groups, when someone took something I wrote the wrong way, and a tiff started. So, in jumps Greg, explaining exactly what I had intended. Then the person who had given me as hard time slithered away and hid under a lotus pad. Meanwhile, I was not even aware Reverend Greg had been following the discussion. I thought that was impressive. He seemed to keep track of a lot of things going on in the cyber groups, he had the pulse. I suspect he had a very busy, rather adventurous 'real' life as well. The ability to keep track of so many things, that well; that accurately, can only come from genuinely caring.

I guess that; a combination of caring, boldness, and a do it now enthusiasm, is what enabled Greg to bring all of us, those who blog here, together, under one accurately named heading. It was truly a feat that was fraught with peril. He seemed to live Daisaku Ikeda's advice to be bold and courageous; even if doing so was not always welcome within SGI. If Greg had any agenda, other than getting people, those with diverse views, talking with one another, I never had a clue what it was. I do not even know his political views were, what kind of music he listened to, his favorite movies, and so on. I knew he liked martial arts -- duh!?! I was not even aware he was a scuba diver. I now know, from an obituary: