Before the pandemic, he loved to play host. Every winter since 1978 he had convened a series of Wednesday evening salons inviting curators, collectors, artists and art lovers to his apartment. “It’s amazing what the conversations are around midnight,” he said.
His last evening was March 9, 2020 when he went to Petterino’s Monday Night Live, a cabaret showcase, with friends. “It was full throttle,” he said, “as if everyone knew the ban was coming.”
A few days later he got dressed and got on the bus to see the symphony perform “Rhapsody in Blue” and “Boléro”. He arrived, found out the performance had been canceled, and went back home. That was March 12th.
Late for binge watching
Minieka never had much use for television. For years he had a hand-me-down black and white watching the Oscars and elections, but when the tubes started leaking he threw it out. At the beginning of the pandemic, a friend offered him her old TV – she was upgrading – and he decided it was time to plug in cables and find out about streaming.
He plays “Downton Abbey”, “The Crown” and “Brideshead Revisited”. Occasionally he watches a movie. But he has no patience for digital theater. “I just don’t enjoy it,” he says. “I was in the real thing.”
Now he’s had both doses of vaccine and plans to celebrate by seeing a Monet exhibit at the Art Institute. But will he be performing live again? He is not sure.
“I kind of got used to sitting at home and not paying for tickets or spending a few nickels to have things streamed,” he said. “It used to be that you had an 8 o’clock curtain and if I wasn’t there they would close the doors. Now I can start whenever I want and I don’t have to wear a matching tuxedo. “
