[talk] RIP Romeo of Suspenders

[George Rosamond]

FYI, this past Sunday, April 5th, Romeo from Suspenders passed from
COVID-19.

Some of us knew Romeo before the first NYC*BUG meeting at the old
Suspenders location at 111 Broadway. The first meeting there was in 2007
with Ivan about Subversion
(https://www.nycbug.org/index?action=view&id=10076).

True story: Steve Jobs went out of his way to bump us out of the Soho
Apple Store, since no attendees were capable of answering questions
aobut shortcuts in Quark. We didn't "fit in" there, and remember, at
that time, the Soho Apple Store was the flagship of Apple.

We held a lot of meetings in the backroom of the old Suspenders, then
again at the new Suspenders on Maiden Lane. We very much became
identified as "that group that met in the backroom of Suspenders."

We even held our last NYCBSDCon at the old Suspenders in 2014
(https://www.nycbug.org/index?action=view&id=10344). Oh, god, even MWL
looked young then. We worked with Romeo who gave us the whole place for
the day, and dealt with food and drinks at a very reasonable price.
After previous NYCBSDCons, it was a breath of fresh air, and really low
stress for the organizers.

We also held one NYC-wide holiday party there in 2012
(https://www.nycbug.org/index?action=view&id=10331), which again, Romeo
helped us out with.

Anyways, I was fortunate to have Romeo hold me hostage at the bar just
before this whole thing broke out a few months ago. I was already at a
Suspenders event, and had no intention of staying, but it was a blast.
We drank late night and had "the usual" discussion, food and family.

Romeo leaves behind his wife and very young daughter, plus a load of
siblings.

Cheers Romeo!

g