For those of us who have been on several Rick Steves tours (7 for us), we have fond memories of the guides for each trip and wonderful time spent touring Europe. I wish the main RS office could put up a page with each guide on it with a line or two of how they are doing. I do not wish to invade their privacy, I just think about each one them and hope that they are weathering this time safely!
The reason I posted this is before 12 years ago I had never left the US except for a trip to the Bahamas, and the main reason I didn't travel to Europe was because I was afraid of being in a different culture, unable to speak the language and concerned about weather or not it would be "safe". After our first tour (Venice, Florence & Rome) my wife and I have become passionate about travel and have been in 10 different countries and we're just getting started! I can't tell you how much my understanding of the world has expanded. Travel is one of the most enlightening endeavors a person can undertake, I truly hope all the guides are safe.