Bombs bursting in air? Mailboxes beware.

Today is the day when we celebrate the way Adams, Jefferson, and Washington managed to proclaim U.S. independence in 1776 without blowing up a single mailbox -- some thing that hasn't occurred on any Fourth of July in America since. I asked readers for their favorite memories of this impor tant holiday, and here is a small sampling of their stories.

• Carole Goldberg, Hartford, Conn.: When I was a kid in the early 1950s, we had fireworks at the Connecticut beach where we rented a cottage. Our...