While growing up in Keyport, New Jersey, and Cairo, celebrating our great country’s Independence Day each Fourth of July was always something special my family enjoyed doing.

One of my special Independence Days occurred several years ago while I was visiting my cousins in New Jersey. It was also a day that I provided a little excitement and family humor.

My cousins Peggy, Tommy, Billy and Johnny Collins and I all went to Long Branch New Jersey Beach to celebrate with other family members and friends.

After chowing down on delicious hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries and various deserts while jointly singing God Bless America and America the Beautiful and waving our miniature American Flags, family members paired up and played a softball game.

My cousins are all New York Mets fans. Before they moved to Los Angeles in 1956, they were all Brooklyn Dodgers. Many of today’s Mets fans are all former fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, who moved to San Francisco in 1956. I was a Giants fan when they made their move to the west coast and they continue to be my favorite team until the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta.

While sitting on a wooden lawn chair and watching the game, I did something very embarrassing that grabbed the attention of all my dear family. The chair’s wooden bottom suddenly broke and I went rolling down a slight embankment straight toward a table filled with food and soft drinks.

Thankfully, my cousin Billy saw my predicament and ran and stopped me just before I got to the table. After everyone saw that I was OK, they proceeded to laugh and tell me that if I waned more food all I had to do was ask for it.

This is just one of the many wonderful things my family did for me at Fourth of July celebrations.

In conclusion, I would just like to thank all of my loyal readers for their kindness and support and I hope they have a wonderful Independence Day celebration with their family and friends.