It was 1976 and I was turning 12. The bicentennial was the rage. The country was 200 years old and everything came in red, white, and blue. I had a necklace with stars strung across it and a handmade, beaded red and blue bracelet. There were parades and concerts, fireworks and lots of talk of the forefathers and the birth of our nation.
Young by comparison to so many other countries, we were, nonetheless, boastful…

