After an 18 month stasis where the industry did all they could to keep the lights on thanks to the pandemic, the conference made things feel a little more normal again. Actually, almost more normal than normal.More than 1,500 people attended the show.There were some new faces, some old faces and some old faces in new places and old places with new faces. People were happy, they were excited to see each other and the general consensus was built on moving past COVID and into the future.It was easy to get caught up in the excitement,but the grim reality of our situation is still lingering. As I write this, the Delta variant of COVID is gaining steam thanks to the asininity of those still refusing to get the vaccine that leaves the rest of us in a state of stupefaction.But this isn't a column to rant about the unvaccinated, it's a reminder that we're still not out of the woods. This pandemic is still among us and the new variants are threatening a fragile recovery.Record amounts of people are traveling. We saw the largest Fourth of July traffic ever. People want out. Airlines, airports and everyone in between want to get back to work. It's easy to get caught up in the hype, but it's going to be crushing if things have to shut down again before we even get caught up speed.
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