Requiescat In Pace Robert Zolnierzak
Posted By Kathleen David on March 29, 2020
End of Week 2 of the Homebound Saga aka Sunday
My father informed me yesterday of the passing of Bob from complications of the COVID-19 virus. When I heard Governor Cuomo give us the death statics for New York City on Friday for the people who died Thursday, I didn’t know at the time that Bob was one of those who had passed.
Bob was one of those larger than life people who really did take life by the horns and lived it. He was a world traveler having stepped on all seven continents before it was easy to do. He was an avid foodie who loved to share his findings with others. If you wanted a good restaurant recommendation for New York City, Bob could steer you to the best. He had a passion for the arts in all forms. He was an avid reader which was pretty obvious if you entered his apartment as he had floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with books on all kinds of subjects.
He was a friend of the family before there was a family. He and my father met in high school and became good friends. That friendship lasted throughout the years.
I can remember as a child going to New York City and having Bob show us around. There are a couple of spots that still exist that I remember from that time. In his apartment he had a window seat that I loved to sit on and watch the people outside.
Bob introduced me to the works of Shel Silverstein by gifting me a copy of Don’t Bump the Glump which I still have. I loved those poems.
He would send us Christmas letters with his adventures across the globe every year.
He’s the one that told me that I could pay whatever to get into the Met. The prices were suggestions not hard numbers. He also steered me to some exhibits of artists I have grown to adore that I would not have if he hadn’t told me about them. He also sorted out the subway system for me.
My best Bob Zolnierzak story happened when I went up to Yale to interview for the Stage Management program at the Yale School of Drama.
I was using Bob’s apartment as my base while I was in town. When I got there, Bob informed me that he and a friend were throwing a dinner party and they had one seat left that they hadn’t filled so it was serendipitous that I was there on that weekend to join them.
This was one of those dinner parties that started about 6 and ended around midnight. There were food and wine pairing that were amazing. The meal was the stuff of legend.
Even better were the people. I do not think I have ever been in such an eclectic group of intellectuals in my life. There were both an astronomer and an astrologer. There was a crossword puzzle creator. There was a geologist who was also a Buddhist. Two book indexers which is what Bob did as well. One of Jim Henson’s assistants who was where Frank cribbed the voice of Miss Piggy which was rather disconcerting. A lawyer and a police officer.
We talked about everything and anything. It was one of those amazing conversations that started a point A seem to be moving to B before taking a hard left to K eventually getting back to B. I was in heaven as I could keep my own among these people and they listened to what I had to say rather than being dismissed as a child.
It was one of the most incredible nights of my life and I will always be grateful for it.
I would occasionally stay with Bob while I was at Yale and he was in town.
After I moved up here again, we talked about getting together but the timing just didn’t work out for one reason or another.
Now I wish it had. I figured that Bob would be there.
He would have been 84 on March 30th.
I will miss him and his recommendations for all things New York City. I will miss the book discussion we always seemed to get into. I got some great reads off of his recommendations.
Rest in Peace Bob. You were one of those shining lights we all need in our lives.
I am grateful that Bob was part of my life.
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