Together again: Texans venture out to make up for lost time

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As Texas settles in for another long, hot summer, more Texans are doing something they haven’t done for a year and more: going out into the world and being around other people. The pandemic took a terrible toll on the lives and health of so many, but it also changed how Texans behave. Famously friendly, culturally gregarious and inherently social, many Texans found themselves distanced, masked and unable to comfortably do so many things that before always seemed normal.

But now, with vaccinations readily available and infection and hospitalization rates in sharp decline, Texas is reopening — and Texans are taking full advantage, going swimming and dancing, eating at restaurants, drinking in bars, playing at parks, going shopping and just generally doing what comes naturally. Texas Tribune photographers fanned out across the state to get a feel for a state emerging from the long shutdown. Here’s a little of what they saw.