Thanks for the catch. I just built the code around a working line of code and forgot to replace it in my haste. It always helps to have another set of eyes take a look! Thanks again for your through assistance.
Shane, you rock! Your suggestion worked perfectly. Below is the working code…just in case somebody else searches for this or a very similar issue. Again, thank you for explaining this and pointing me toward the relevant resources, Shane.
<?php
$bpProfileField = bp_get_profile_field_data( 'field=What makes me tick...&user_id=' . get_the_author_meta( 'ID' ) );
if ( empty ( $bpProfileField) ):
?>
<p>Apparently <?php echo get_the_author() ?> does not feel like sharing anything. Isn't this sad?</p>
<?php else: ?>
<p><?php echo bp_profile_field_data( 'field=What makes me tick...&user_id=' . get_the_author_meta( 'ID' ) ) ?></p>
<?php endif; ?>
