fountain of youth vs. geriatric scooters

geekfest, the annual gathering of the aphotoaday community happened this past weekend in the backyard (no. not literally) of founder, mentor, and inspirational leader melissa lyttle. about a hundred (young"ish") photojournalists from all over the country descended on st. petersburg, fla. for a little inspiration, motivation, support, and of course a few frothy beverages.
it was a much needed positive break from the fear and confusion that seeps in on a seemingly daily basis these days in our profession.
(even when we were drafting ways to save this thing we love, on friday another blow was finalized.)
so it was an eerie parallel that most of us (cycling for transportation, btw.) were rooming at the ponce de leon, a hotel in a city slightly beset by snowbird retirees lazily humming down sidewalks, missing our sandaled feet as their scooters motored by.
but to paraphrase my friend ross taylor "in chaos there is opportunity."
and some of that was seen and proven with everyone who spoke. so there is hope. but it's going to take some pedaling to get there. anyway.....