The Fourth

From as far back as I can remember, the Fourth of July was always a fun holiday. My first true clear memory was the nation’s bicentennial in 1976. I waseight. My family and my uncle’s family (which included two baby cousins at the time) met up on the Hudson somewhere–along with my unmarried aunts and my grandparents–and went to some sort of celebration event. We packed a picnic and watched fireworks. Although I was still fairly young, I can still remember my three-year-old (very active) cousi...