Of Birthdays & Brothers Happy birthday, America - t he US turns 250 tomorrow! We may be looking a bit ragged, but we’re chugging along, like this scruffy trio in one of the most iconic images of the American Revolution, The Spirit of ’76 . Fun fact: my stepfather claimed one of his ancestors was the model for the painting’s fife player. According to him, he was descended from a Revolutionary era military man who was a fifer during the war. I lean toward believing the story. At least, I choose to believe. I’m looking back at another 4 th of July at the moment, to the Bicentennial in 1976. I know exactly where I was that day – cheering along with 60,000 other people at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, MA, as Elton John burst onto the stage dressed as the Statue of Liberty and launched into a concert for the ages. When I started my memoir-ish coming-of-age novel My Bicentennial , I knew I wanted to end the book with that concert. A ...
