Things Ed used to say.

"Travel as economically as possible, but when a problem arises, use money like a firehose. Put out the blaze."

Planning is okay but be prepared to change your plans at a moment's notice.

After a thorough review of my notes, recordings and pictures...nope.

Edit: Wait a minute...here's one, "I'm proud of my humility."

On art museums in Paris: “Kids don’t need to see art, they need to see stuff.”

On travel clothing "It is not a cardinal sin to wear wrinkles"
On packing essentials "If you carry two feet of Gorilla Tape and a big thing of floss, you can re-float Noah's boat"

On driving in Paris (or any such city): "It's just streets."

He was before my time on this forum, but I like what’s been posted on this thread so far!

So is ther news about Ed and why he disappeared?

Honestly, I was not a fan. He could be mean if you crossed him.

Thanks for the reminder about Ed. I sure miss his entertaining replies!!!

I miss him too. He absolutely was entertaining!!

But just in case I was wrong (fat friggin chance)

The best original quote

Hell, I'll come right out and say it since I've been mucking around that town since way before CDG and the RER were even thunk of: I couldn't do it wearing sneakers and a speedo with a fistfull of euros and leaving wailing women and children in my wake. You, on the other hand, don't have a prayer.

This, from May in 2012, was in respect of a question of making a train from Gare St Lazare exactly two hours after a scheduled international arrival at CDG airport.

I know some folk didn't like him - heck there may even be a few here who don't like me, fine - but I was pleased to call him friend, much around on a boat with him and I miss him.

We lost touch and I can't find him anywhere. I hope he's OK.

He also was a chopper and straight wing pilot who saved people's lives both in Vietnam and for many years after. Ed, if you are still around my hat's off to you.

There is someone who posts here, I think maybe Pam(?) who is in touch with Ed from time to time. Her last mention of him was maybe 5 months ago and she said he was fine but gave no other information.

I think Bets stay in touch with him. Tell him we said hey.

I really liked Ed and his laser-sharp wit. He was a straight-talker, and I really appreciated that. Ed was truly one of a kind. I wish he was still active on this forum because he contributed much to it (and he made me laugh countless times). But, for the life of me, I cannot make sense of this quote: "Avoid multiple modes of transportation in the same day". Walking IS a mode of transport, and it's usually combined with another mode of transport in a single day. Unless you're transported via a Wonder Woman jet from your lodging to a subway system, a bus, a taxi, a ferry, a funicular, etc......you have to walk there first, even if it's 1-3 blocks away. So that's at least two modes of transport. Same when you arrive and depart. You take a plane to Europe and then hop on either public transport or private transport like a taxi to get to your hotel. With walking in between. The only way to uphold this "one mode" mantra is when you're literally exploring a city/town/whatever on foot each day, but then you're limited to how far you can walk. Why limit yourself? Transportation is supposed to be efficient, so it makes sense to combine different modes that will get you there in the shortest time or using the easiest methods. Most people I know take multiple modes of transport every single day, even at home (granted I live in an urban area where public transit, walking, biking are all used - in combination - and seen as attractive options).

If you can shed light on what Ed meant by that quote, that would be helpful. I may be totally misinterpreting it.

I am surmising that walking was not on his list of travel modes. Nor local transport. I guess that Ed was referring to long distance trips, like the aforementioned person wishing to be on a train at St Lazare 2 hours after landing at CDG. Brevity was the soul of Ed's wit, so it gets too wordy to add all the exceptions and caveats.

BTW, it's advice I have ignored numerous times, to no ill effect (so far).

It was about paying for both a train and a rental car on the same day. Why shell out the money for a train ticket if you are going to pick up a rental anyway. Just drive out of town or the airport and save what you would have spent on a train ticket. Smart economically for intercity and local trains, but not high speed trains, IMO, where it’s time vs money.

Yes, we’re in touch about once a year and this year I sent him the news about Zoe.

He was before Pam’s time. Once again, he’s doing fine, traveling a lot, following other interests.
Our loss.

Thank you, Sam and Bets, for clarifying. That makes much more sense, although as a caveat (maybe neither here nor there), I don't think most people think of walking as transport although it's the most common type of transport. Same with local public transport (most commonly buses, trams, etc).

Glad to hear Ed’s doing well, thanks Bets. I miss him. I miss Kent too.

Found another one that made me smile at the time and seems very appropriate still. When trying to answer vague questions without much info from the OP: "We've got to take our cues from what you ask. You're paying for the expedition. Pick our minds, but give us a starting point."

And glad to hear he's still kickin'.

Actually, he wasn't before my time but I was a target of his a time or two so not a fan.

Thank you, Bets, for the update--add me to the list of people who sorely miss his wit and knowledge on the forums.

Susan,

thanks for mentioning Kent. An absolutely top-notch guy. Without him much of this Helpline and now Forums would never be here.

Never had a harsh word. Came up with the sticky.

I miss him too....

Another one after a lengthy and possibly tedious discussion on what shoes to wear.

Something to the effect of "I goes out the door with what's on my feets".

Ed was before my time as I am relatively new to RS forums but I like his style.

Bets,

Thanks for the info on Ed's current activities. Next time you contact him, be sure to tell him that lots of people (me included) miss his always entertaining advice and wit on the forum.

I've been hoping that Kent would return at some point. He must have also moved on to other activities?

Yes, I miss Kent. He's the one who brought me to this forum from another one and made my first trip to Italy a roaring success.

Ken, I tell him every time but will do so again. BTW, we don't hear enough from you, either. Your advice is so clear, accurat, non-judgemental, and welcomed.

Kent had made an appearance a year or two ago, and had said that he hadn't been traveling. He had a trip planned so was back on. I wish he's stayed.

And yes, Ken is awesome! He always answers so patiently to new posters who are asking old questions. Several times I've searched back in his posts to find one I needed.

I'm not familiar with Ed but from what I can gather he may well have had something sharp to say about chunky pieces of tomatoes in Italian dishes, or middle aged men requesting suggestions for clothing when visiting Europe.

Bets,

Thanks for the kind words! I'm usually on the forum every day, but not posting as much as usual. At this time of year, there always seems to be so much to do, so that cuts down on my computer access time.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transportation

This definition would seem to exclude walking.

Nigel, exactly right... Kent is an absolutely top-notch guy. And so are you. This forum would be a sad place without you.

And Ken... what Bets said!

((blushes))

OMG Nigel, thanks for posting that quote from Ed about the transfer from CDG. I had forgotten it. One of the funniest things I’ve read on this forum! He was a gem and I miss him.

I also miss Kent who was also witty, as well as being a nice guy.

And speaking of nice - Ken is the nicest, most patient and fair-minded poster on the forum.

How about a new tab in the General Europe category titled "What Ed Said" or something similar? So much material needs to be memorialized for his almost countless fans.

For anyone who wasn't around and wants to read some of Ed's gems you can still access Ed's posting history by finding a thread that he responded to and clicking on his name in his response. Here is one of my old posts that has one of his posts so you can find his history: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/to-the-north/wales-trip-early-planning-stages. It might take some browsing through his posts to find the 'gems' but most of his posts were interesting and informative even without one.

In response to Christi's thread: What is your favorite city AND your favorite thing to do there?

Ed's was the first to reply and he said The wording of the question implies that we can only mention cities with bawdy houses.
Is that the intent?

Nancy--great, there goes my whole day poking around old posts and chuckling at Ed's way with words...

Sorry Christa, but I guess there's worse ways to waste a day. :)