Pennsauken's 9/11 memorial rises from a lush loop of grass in a Route 130 jughandle.
Six lanes of rush hour seem unlikely to create an atmosphere of contemplation, but today, the sounds of people going to work and heading to school are just right .
After all, the community that built this memorial is mostly made up of working-class people; people like the murdered firefighters, police officers and other victims honored by the wall of gleaming black granite, and by Brian P. Hanlon's bronze sculpture.
Fran Gavin passes the memorial every morning on his way to his Sir Speedy print shop on the other side of 130.
"It really means something that we finally got him (Osama bin Laden)," the 55-year-old Woodbury Heights resident says. "Just now, the guy on the radio was crying."
Likewise, the messages from individuals, businesses, and civic organizations – engraved in rows of paving stones throughout the memorial -- have an extra resonance today.
Forever in our hearts
Heroes all
Thank you