When James moved over the river from Clifton and Hyde Park over to Newport to live with me (and Oscar!), there was much concern about where he would hang out. He had a favorite neighborhood haunt in each place he'd lived and wasn't very familiar with Newport. But he discovered how much he liked Hofbrauhaus and all the bartenders and locals who worked and hung out there. I'd spent (too much) time at Hofbrauhaus in college, but hanging out there with James was a totally new experience. He befriended everyone who worked there and we have so many great memories of days and nights sitting at the Hofbrauhaus bar, or out in the beer garden. James loved getting carryout and coming home with mountains of German food that he'd eat leftovers of, for days. Hofbrauhaus was a really special place to James, to both of us, and I know he'd be pleased with us gathering there to remember him.

James also loved nothing more than to buy other people drinks - something we occasionally disagreed about, especially when we were young and broke :) But it never stopped him. If someone was having a bad day, or one of my friends was going through a bad breakup, or if you came into town to visit us, you never paid for a drink when James was around.

In his spirit, I'd love for people who love him to gather casually at Hofbrauhaus to support each other and to remember him. Parking will be free and we'll have food and beer tickets for one last beer on James. Please come prepared to share a favorite "James-ism" or story about James, and come and go as you need to. I'm sure that tears will be shed, but I'm also sure we'll have a few laughs as we remember him, in one of his favorite places.