Has anybody seen ____ around Lately?

[Edward]

@Sloan1874 is another guy we used to see & read daily.

He's still around, but very busy. New job last couple of years which involves some pretty hefty shifts, among other demands on his time. Not gone, but for now less time available.

I've been around TFL since 2007, and seen a huge membership churn in all those years. Same for pretty much any forum I've ever been on really. People have come and gone for all sorts of reasons. One or two we lost because of the behaviour of others, some have had to be shown the door, one went off in a huff because they didn't feel appreciated, others simply lose interest in the 'vintage' scene and may or may not crop up on facebook snidely laughing at it all in future. Just how it goes with any interest group, really.

I think the only website I've stuck with as long as this is Facebook. Difference is, if something came along that replaced facebook with the same functionality but a much nicer place all round, I'd be gone from Zuckerberg's planet like a shot.

 

[Peacoat]

I just checked on JanSolo. He last posted in Oct. 2014, but he logged in two months ago.

The one I am worried about is EmergencyIan. He is a paramedic in NYC, living in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. He hasn't logged in since the Spring of 2020, when Covid was running rampant in the City. He had some underlying health concerns, so even a moderate case of the Virus could be fatal.

Hope you are still with us, Ian.

 

[El Marro]

I sometimes wonder about @Leither. If I recall correctly he works in medicine and we stopped hearing from him fairly early in the pandemic.

 

[JMax]

I sometimes wonder about @Leither. If I recall correctly he works in medicine and we stopped hearing from him fairly early in the pandemic.

He recently checked in. Is doing well. Into guitars(?) now so I’m sure posting away on The Guitar Lounge.

 

[El Marro]

He recently checked in. Is doing well. Into guitars(?) now so I’m sure posting away on The Guitar Lounge.

I’m glad to hear that, thanks @JMax! I’m pretty into guitars myself but one must always make time for leather jackets…
I hope to see him around here again someday.

 

[tmitchell59]

Great thread! I've been thinking about several of the folks mentioned here. There are a couple of more, but I don't recall their username.

Thanks for the updates

 

[Tom71]

Yes! Thanks all for the updates!

 

[Edward]

I’m glad to hear that, thanks @JMax! I’m pretty into guitars myself but one must always make time for leather jackets…
I hope to see him around here again someday.

It's the affording both bit I struggle with.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Where’s @ProteinNerd too? These koala kids got too cool for us? That guy made me buy 10 bootleggers trying to get one look as good as his.

I still pop in, in lurk mode once a fortnight or so but my Good Wear fiasco really killed my passion for jackets, I've been thinking about selling off a heap of them. Plus my little kids daycare is closed due to covid and I'm trying to juggle him at home all day and a promotion at work.

This is still the most civil place on the internet and I do miss hanging out here as much as I used too.

 

[ton312]

I still pop in, in lurk mode once a fortnight or so but my Good Wear fiasco really killed my passion for jackets, I've been thinking about selling off a heap of them. Plus my little kids daycare is closed due to covid and I'm trying to juggle him at home all day and a promotion at work.

This is still the most civil place on the internet and I do miss hanging out here as much as I used too.

Good to hear from ya PN. Certainly does sound like you have your hands full!

 

[nick123]

I’ve been posting on VLJ a lot more frequently (military bug has its claws in me) but I always wonder where Tropicalbob went.

 

[Harris HTM]

@Sloan1874 is another guy we used to see & read daily.

Do you guys still remember his epic daily instalments of the Aero trial in 2015? Epic. Hopefully he'll find time to frequent the lounge again.

 

[Monitor]

I still pop in, in lurk mode once a fortnight or so but my Good Wear fiasco really killed my passion for jackets, I've been thinking about selling off a heap of them. Plus my little kids daycare is closed due to covid and I'm trying to juggle him at home all day and a promotion at work.

This is still the most civil place on the internet and I do miss hanging out here as much as I used too.

I felt the same way after a Lost Worlds ordeal and I still haven't bought a brand new jacket since and don't think I ever will. OTR, maybe but made to order... Nah, never again.

 

[Cheech]

@SpeedRcrX is another one who used to post regularly whom I haven't seen in a while... Although I'm not a frequent poster, I've been a member since 2011. I originally came here to gather information on purchasing a leather jacket and joined when I realized that there is an entire fascinating world to that market. I believe that @Seb Lucas was the first to respond to my initial inquiry. Back then, some of the heaviest hitters in the Outerwear section were @PADDY, @JanSolo, and @ButteMT61. I'm grateful that long-timers like @Edward and @Monitor still post frequently, that @PADDY and @Peacoat are still on the forum, and that relative newcomers like @ton312 actively post, but I admit to feeling a little wistful about the turnover.

Referring back to the mention of guitar hobbyists, I'm reminded of the guitarnuts forum, which I used to frequent in the mid-2000s, back when modding cheap guitars was my primary hobby. Like this forum, that one was a close-knit community of true characters, always insightful, helpful, and unique in perspective. At one point, a longtime member and probably the most frequent poster and biggest personality, UnklMickey, stopped showing up. Although that community, which was much smaller than this one, continued on, it changed in a fundamental way, and, given circumstances of my own (starting grad school, birth of my first child), I stopped visiting that site. In one of Borges' short stories, his character notes that, shortly after the death of a longtime would-be love interest, the billboard down the street is changed, "another hateful reminder that the world moves on." I can relate.

 

[Harris HTM]

@SpeedRcrX is another one who used to post regularly whom I haven't seen in a while.

Indeed she had an amazing collection of jackets. I hope she's ok.

 

[Peacoat]

@SpeedRcrX Logged in on August 2, 2021 so she is still with us, even though she hasn't been posting.

 

[Worf]

Well... truth be told... this is like a communal "message in a bottle". We're truly never sure if it arrives, if it's read or anything until others respond. I still love this place... hit it once or twice daily. There are many here I miss sometimes and wonder about... but such is the nature of life. Mostly post to the moving picture forum these days as I never learned how to properly take a selfie!

Worf

 

[Boyo]

I never learned how to properly take a selfie!

^ Put the timer on and lean the iphone against a tree..

 

[TheOldFashioned]

How about @Dav and his dogs? Looks like he's been away since May. I always liked that his pics seemed so natural and he didn't baby his jackets or boots (like I tend to do).

 

[Herman F.]

I felt the same way after a Lost Worlds ordeal and I still haven't bought a brand new jacket since and don't think I ever will. OTR, maybe but made to order... Nah, never again.

I just had a similar experience - I don't want to pick on the maker (Covid seems to have been a factor), but I'm never buying another article of clothing that I haven't tried on. I think.

I came here a couple years ago to research my first serious jacket purchase (an Aero, which turned out fine) and have hung around since for the photos and because the company's enjoyable. I never say anything because I don't know jack.