RIP Bob

I was broken hearted to see a post on Facebook yesterday that Bob Szymanski passed away the day after Christmas. I saw a post from Linda, his ex-wife, and a friend on FB. Apparently Bob had been very ill for several years that I didn't know about. I feel bad that I didn't keep in better touch with him. I wish he had come back to Buffalo after he retired. I guess he's been living in Pittsburgh for the last 35 or more years. He was 73 years old.

We had some great times together when I was working for him spinning records at the Pastime Lounge that his parents owned and ran when I first started working there in 1982. I stayed there until late 1986. I wish I had some photos of that bar and me in the sound booth doing my thing. We just didn't carry cameras around with us all the time like we do now with our phones.

Bob had an interesting regular job as an inspector for OSHA. 

I had been thinking a lot about Bob recently when I found all those Pastime Lounge flyers and posters in that box of "stuff" up on the 3rd floor. I felt like contacting him and I should have although he was probably very ill.

I spent a lot of time with Bob. There were so many hours at the Pastime Lounge. I worked from 10 pm to 4 am but I often stopped around 2 am. Bob played the records on Friday nights because there was a crowd there that night that could be trouble and he wanted to be there. They also had a very popular fish fry on Fridays that Bob's mom cooked for the patrons.

Saturday night was a little slower at least when I started but I built up a following and got the art crowd to go there after art openings. Then we started having some live music. I also worked some other nights spinning records like an oldies night on Thursdays. I really did enjoy putting that music together and when I stopped working in the sound booth I shifted my music energies to making mixes which I've continued to do to this very day.

I used to go out with Bob for a couple of drinks after working when we closed early or shut down the sound system. We would often go down to Coles where he was friends with the owner. Sometimes we would go down Grant Street and stop at a few bars where he knew the owners. Places like the Cavern Tavern where there were a lot of folks in there that were banned from the Pastime. Sometimes if I got out early from the Pastime I would head down to the Pink Flamingo for a last call.

Another thing Bob would do was get a bus and sell tickets to a Bills game on a Sunday. Then they would all come back to the Pastime for a dinner his mom cooked up... usually a fish fry. I went to the game for free as a employee benefit. Sometimes Bob would take me an occasional Monday night game. 

Then his parents passed away withing a few years of each other and Bob got transferred to the Pittsburg office of OSHA. Then he sold the business which then closed a few years later. It's been empty for decades now.

Update 1/4/26

There is a memorial service for Bob on Friday February 6th 4 to 7pm at Kolano Funeral Home at Grant and Amherst streets. I plan to attend.