\u201cMinneapolis? No, I don\u2019t think so, we shouldn\u2019t travel right now because of Covid. Wouldn\u2019t it be better to wait for Los Angeles? In fact, almost nobody from the PLD is going, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
These thoughts certainly crossed our minds while deciding whether or not to go to ATA62. For some, the question was moot: Covid travel restrictions made it impossible. Others went ahead and made plans, whether they\u2019d decided early on or at the very last minute. In any event, the surprise for those who did attend was to discover how a small conference, with very few PLD members present, could end up being so much fun!<\/p>\n
Minneapolis is a city known for its cold climate, with an eclectic downtown featuring some beautiful historic buildings and many newer ones, boasting clean, wide sidewalks adorned with flowers, yet it was sadly and surprisingly empty. Some blamed Covid and remote work, while others attributed the empty streets to the protests that followed George Floyd\u2019s death. Whatever the reason, walking around downtown often felt strange, almost surreal.<\/p>\n
Our group rented a van one day and visited the George Floyd memorial during the lunch break. Obviously, it\u2019s not a happy destination, not somewhere you go for fun. Nonetheless, we did see a greenhouse that had been built to tend to the flowers and keep them alive during the long winter, symbolizing hope.<\/p>\n
When a group is small (there were only seven of us), it\u2019s easier to schedule meals and activities at which everyone can be present. This fostered a feeling of closeness, almost as if we were our own little family, quite different from what usually occurs at ATA conferences when dozens and dozens of PLD members are there. Of course, everyone is looking forward to ATA63 in Los Angeles, planning to see old friends and enjoy being together in large groups again, but our \u201clittle family\u201d in Minneapolis was the nicest surprise we could have had.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cMinneapolis? No, I don\u2019t think so, we shouldn\u2019t travel right now because of Covid. Wouldn\u2019t it be better to wait for Los Angeles? In fact, almost nobody from the PLD is going, right?\u201d These thoughts certainly crossed our minds while deciding whether or not to go to ATA62. For some, the question was moot: Covid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1773"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1775,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773\/revisions\/1775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/PLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}