Most everything we saw in Atlanta was seen on foot. I was sad that Atlanta doesn’t have a hop on hop off trolley system like Chicago or D.C.  I’ve grown to count on those for trips to big cities I’ve never been to before. On our walk back from breakfast and the Oakland Cemetery to the aquarium we saw some interesting things I decided to take photos of.

The Georgia State Capitol. We didn’t get to the front of it.

Henry Woodfin Grady was a journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the former Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War.

I’m glad he didn’t mind me taking his photo! We walked right into the bustling, excited crowds gathering for the Atlanta Falcons/Oakland Raiders football game. Boy that “Raider Nation” is an interesting bunch of supporters!

Walking through the park I couldn’t help but think of our friend, Bob Keene. Bob Keene won an Emmy for his part in the opening ceremonies at the Atlanta Olympics of 1996.

Winner
Centennial Olympic Games: Opening Ceremonies
NBC

Steve Bass, Art Director; Bob Keene, Production Designer

Bob passed away unexpectedly in 2003 on his way to work. He was an amazing set designer and he was a follower of Jesus. Here is something that was written about him.

“Keene was best known for his work on live television awards programs. During his twenty-eight year career he designed every major award show, including the Emmy Awards®, the Grammy Awards® (for twenty years), the Tony® Awards and the Academy Awards® twice. He won Emmys for his work on the Richard Simmons Show (1980), the Centennial Olympic Games: Opening Ceremonies (1996) and the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards (2000), and he was nominated twelve other times.”

And I’ll share these quotes, too.

“Bob was a devoted husband. He and Sharon lived in Nichols Canyon where Bob designed both their home, modeled after Shakespeare’s birthplace, and his contemporary office in a back corner of his property, which won an architectural award in 2002. His assistant and successor, Brian Stonestreet remembers:

“He and Sharon loved to entertain at their home. Every year he had multiple Christmas parties for his church friends as well as work friends, and the house, as you can imagine, looked like something out of a Martha Stewart special. I cannot think of any of those parties and not smell mulled cider.”

At the time of his death Keene was both managing his career and tending to his wife who was battling brain cancer. No matter what he was focused on, professionally or personally, Bob put every bit of energy into whatever he did. He lived life passionately.”

Dear and I were invited to one of Bob and Sharon’s Christmas parties and it was like stepping into an old English world of charm with the low beamed ceilings and all. It was way better than Martha Stewart could have done. Shortly after Bob died Sharon also passed away from complications due to her brain tumor. Bob and Sharon are home with their Lord.

Bob and Sharon Keene on Bob’s Emmy Award Set – 1997