Where is Kent?

Just checked and my last pm from him was Sept. 2009, though I know he was posting after that. Perhaps 2 years ago? My last email from him was Sept. 2008. Lots of people thought he was Rick in disguise.

I last had a PM from Kent in August of 2011, a lovely one, so typical of him. I really miss him. And - who is going to upda-te the stickies on the helpline?

So, I'm not the only one to wonder that? I almost thought he posted a few months ago, but it was just a resurrected zombie thread. Maybe someone can try to dig up one of his old posts and send a PM? I hate to write this, but since he seemed to be an older gentleman... perhaps he boarded that magical tour bus to the sky? Well, we still have Ken... he's almost, sort of Kent... EDIT: I found an old PM he sent me from 5 years ago, and I sent him (or his account) a message. If he responds (and provided he doesn't object), I'll let the forum know.

I miss Kent. He was very special. A great guy.

I thought I saw a fairly recent post on some thread...but since some people routinely delete their posts (waging finger), it's hard to track some people. When I was lurking for ages before signing on to the Helpline, I had the hardest time following some posts; that's when I realized that some people made a habit of deleting their posts - sometimes within hours of posting. I've sent a PM to him, too...

Jo,
Not having read the name of the person who posted the question, I seriously opened this thread thinking I'd have to respond with "Kent is located in the south east of England."

LOL! (sorry; no Kent yet)

I miss Kent too. A nice guy, very welcoming to new posters.

In case newbies are wondering why we're bothering to post this... I've been wasting too much time on this website for about a decade now. I've seen many posters come and go, but usually once a poster reaches a certain "critical mass", they seem to hang around permanently, like they're trapped in a black hole's even horizon or something (OK, enough physics analogies). Kent used to post very frequently. He provided a lot of useful first-hand knowledge, but more importantly, he established an example of helpful courtesy that I think has led to this becoming one of the most polite forums on the internet. If memory serves me correctly, he is one of only 3 posters to break the 10,000 mark, the others being Ken and the now banished He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named (most of whose posts were garbage anyway). And no, I don't think "Kent" was an alias for Rick Steves, a la "Clark Kent". The writing styles were too different. RS has an accessible but very sharp didactic style. Kent wrote more like a kindly old grandfather.

I miss Kent also! I had a nice conversation with him on the phone and he kindly helped me with suggestions for planning a trip to the Portland area. That was 2 years ago - hoping he's o.k.!

Uhhhhh...maybe that was Doug/Portlandia that posted recently...

I stopped posting about two years ago, and now that I'm back (kids older and in preschool) and reading the Helpline again, I look for those familiars from a couple of years ago. Have missed Kent's presence. He was always very kind and informative. There are certainly others as well, but he certainly stood out.

He-who-shall-not-be-named never made it close to 10,000 but she was trying hard to get there before the big bump. I suspect he is back but a much lower profile. I had an exchange with Kent close to two years (will try to find the date since I never delete any of my PMs) and he indicated that he was very busy at the time and just didn't have the time to check in frequently. You are all correct about this being a much calmer site. Anyone watching the turmoil at Fodor's over the proposed rule changes for posting? Fodor's is trying to copy Steves' rules. But think that part of the reason for this site success is the type of posters that it attracts. Few posters inquiring about 5 star hotels.

I have only been here a few years but I do remember him being a rather regular poster when I first go on here, but it has been quite a while since I have seen his name. Guess I missed out on He Who Shall Not Be Named...but it appears it was not a great loss from the inferences here... but maybe some good drama.
@Tom... so this isn't just a passing phase? I might be here forever???

I've also wondered about what happened to Norm from Ottawa. He used to post pretty regularly about Spain and I got a lot of helpful information from his posts when I went to Spain a few years back.

I still think of Kent as the Dean of this list.

NORM! (smacks self on forehead) I've sent him a PM... Terry kathryn, I think you know HWSNBN...a very prolific poster a few years ago. The first poster on every thread. Lots of Google links. 'Nuff said. This thread may evolve...'Hey, where's so-and-so?!?'...

Yes, Norm! (Eileen smacking me on head) He was a great guy too!

It is! Then there was Charles from Texas who really know Rome/Italy (before RoninRome) who didn't post a lot but was very accurate.

I have an AOL email address for Kent. I think the last time I heard from him was in August of 2010. I just sent an email to that address to the effect that people on the Wall are asking about him. One of the last emails I got from that address was a message something like "You gotta see this" and a link. His computer had been hijacked, possibly because he clicked on a similar link in an email, and was sending out messages with a virus. He might have shut down that email service to stop the hijacking. If he is still around, this is probably a busy time for him. He's an accountant and does taxes. A few years ago he told me the business had fallen off and he could no longer afford to travel, so he was losing interest our travel website.

I agree that someone else I believe may have fallen off the radar is Norm from Ottawa...he was definitely one helpful & knowledgeable guy. Yes, he was an expert on Spain.

"A few years ago he told me the business had fallen off and he could no longer afford to travel, so he was losing interest our travel website." OK, then, I can understand why we haven't heard from him. He was obviously passionate about travel. It can be kind of painful if all you can do is talk about your passion... Speaking of the 10,000 mark, looks like you're almost there, Lee.

I miss Kent. In addition to offering good advice, he could be hilarious. It makes me sad to think he can't afford to travel. Hopefully, it's just a temporary situation.

I just realize that I communicated with Kent by email about a year ago - Spring 2012. My high school in Seattle was having a 50 year reunion in September, 2012, and I was contemplating driving from Seattle to Portland to visit Kent, then going on to Sacremento to vist Andrea, Eileen, etal, before going on to Reno to visit my brother. But I chose to fly direct from Seattle to Reno and didn't go through Portland. I've been looking for the emails to Kent, but so far haven't found them.

I last communicated in September 2011. He said he was lurking back then. I'm sure he's got a lot of messages saying how much we miss him. Pam