The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) national convention is in the rearview mirror, but the sunshine remnants are still glowing on my burnt neck.

I attended the convention and manufacturer exhibition most of the time, but I ventured off to the back porch of the J.W. Marriott golf club to jot a few notes, sip a cool beverage, and catch a few of the 85°F rays streaming down in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The tone of the contractors was quite upbeat, though some admitted that the commercial backlogs were just beginning to play out.

So, it won’t come as any surprise that some commercial business should slow down — unless you operate a contracting business in Houston.

The health care industry is still booming, according to one of my recent conversations.

And, believe it or not, after Hurricane Katrina left its devastation in New Orleans, the mechanical contracting business in that city has seen a tremendous surge, said MCAA contractor David Gallo, of Gallo Mechanical, Metairie, La.

Even though naysayers are on every channel of the boob tube at 5 o’clock, there are bound to be pockets of good news around the country, you just have to keep your ears open in order to hear about it.

Now, on to the rest of the weather report: In as much as summer still looks a few months away from my perch in Cleveland, the temperature is 51° today. If that is any indicator, I’m suggesting that a hot summer might trump a slow economy.