Twenty years ago this week, I - along with my family - was sitting in my house watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. I have always loved watching the Olympics, but this time was different. This time, the Games were not on some far-away continent. These Games were in my own hometown! In fact, just the night before, I had been in Olympic Stadium - now Turner Field - watching the dress rehearsal for what I was watching on tv. Now, twenty years later, some of my most vivid memories remain: The seemingly always-crowded highways of Atlanta were practically desolate, providing a seldom-seen sight. Meeting the Frenchman who wondered if I had ever heard of the book about the Civil War written by an Atlanta woman named Margaret Mitchell. The dress rehearsal crowd cheering wildly during the parade of nations for the entry of the flag from (the nation of) Georgia. Attending the women's gymnastics podium trials, watching the Magnificent 7 prepare for their gold me
There was no broad stretch of highway crowded with cars full of eager beachgoers, just a two-lane road cutting through a canopy of trees. There were no souvenir stands, just one small general store. There were only a handful of restaurants, and, in fact, only one bar on the entire island, and it was a 10-minute drive away. Getting to the beach was a matter of stepping out of the apartment and walking a few hundred feet, to the edge of the Gulf. But, those walks led me to some of my fondest memories. For the two weeks I spent on this island every summer, I would make that walk almost everyday. However, my favorite walks happened before the sun rose. I would drag myself out of bed; throw on a bathing suit and sandals and, with my father and often at least one of my siblings, head out the door. We would make our way along sandy pathways, the last hints of nighttime starting to fade away. As we neared the Gulf, the sand beneath our feet became increasingly gr