Break On Through To The Other Side

Recently, spiritual forces were conjured into the quiet community of Massapequa, and only a brave soul could peer through the veil of mystery and gaze upon the secrets within.

It was Psychic Night at Sergio's Italian Restaurant on Merrick Road, and the dining room was packed. Some were seeking to commune with loved ones who have journeyed into the great beyond. Others came for great Italian food and an enjoyable evening.

Their guide? Robert E. Hansen, a Psychic Medium who's been contacting the dearly departed for the last 17 years.

"Robert has a special gift," said Jed Forman, Hansen's manager. "He communicates with souls and loved ones that have crossed over to the other side."

Spiritual matters usually generate their share of skeptics, and Hansen understands the doubters. He says he was a naysayer himself, before his gift manifested.

"I really had no belief in this at all. Zero." he said. "In my world, if you didn't see it and couldn't touch it, it wasn't happening."

However, all that started gradually changing back in the early 1990's.

"It happened almost 17 years ago," he said. "There were no lightning bolts, I didn't have a near-death experience...I just started sensing things and before I knew it, people started hearing about it and coming to see me."

One of those people was Molly Beiderman of Lindenhurst.

"I've never really believed in this stuff," she said after the readings. "But with the things Robert dug up out of nowhere...it was scary."

Mike Sergio has been doing Psychic Nights in his restaurant for many years. But he said he had to be pestered into giving Hansen a shot at first.

"His agent came to see me two years ago and I chased him away four times," Sergio said. "He finally said, 'just give us one shot.' I did, and Robert's been here ever since. He's the best."

To say that Hansen's otherworldly talents are in great demand would in no way be an exaggeration.

"I'm on the road a lot, and I have an office in Merrick," he said. "I probably see over 1000 people a month, at least."

Hansen worked the dining room with a microphone, doing his readings out in the open. Often, patrons were left in tears by the facts that Hansen miraculously discerned about their loved ones.

"Be absolutely clinical in how you approach the readings," Hansen told the crowd. "Don't give any information, and allow me to do all the work."

Hansen will be appearing at the restaurant two times in September and Sergio invites believers and non believers alike to find out what the buzz surrounding Psychic Night is about.

"Come in and have a nice dinner at Sergio's," he said. "And then enjoy the experience of what Robert does."