Sunday morning, September 11, 2011 – slept in a bit, it was after 8 a.m. when I walked into the kitchen promising those already at the table that the coffee would be up in a flash. There was minimal conversation at the table as they were watching the calling of the names at the memorial in New York City. Glancing over as I made the coffee I saw Laura and George Bush on the screen, the cameras were doing close-ups of people and Laura Bush was very teary as the family members were reading the names, especially as they read the name of their own loved one who had perished, or as many of them very aptly put it – were murdered.

I reminded one and all that the 9/11 ceremonies would be happening at the Shrewsbury Borough Hall at 9:30 am – let’s get a move on. As I showered and dressed I thought about that day 10 years ago; about the friends we had buried; about the friends we had tried to comfort as they laid to rest spouses and children; of the year that followed that day, a year of waiting to hear of the possibility of remains being found. A frightful time for our country; a terrible time for our state; and a horrendous time for our County of Monmouth. Two men in our small town of Shrewsbury had been lost, their families devastated.

Pulling into the parking lot at the Borough Hall I was pleased to see the stream of cars coming in. Police, Fire Department, First Aid, the Mayor and several Council members already there. Some Boy Scouts and representatives of town boards gathered at the entrance to the memorial. Many children and adults from young to older to even older (I might place myself in this category) were all over the place. Not a bad showing for a community that can sometimes be rather complacent – not bad at all.

The ceremony went off without a hitch at least in the eyes of someone the likes of me who was jumping here and there to get shots of the goings on. The two Shrewsbury residents lost – Robert R. Talhami and Sal E. Tieri - where called out (there were family members there) and the sincerity of those addressing those assembled was absolute. The ceremony, hosted by the Shrewsbury Fire Department, concluded and the Colors departed the area.

It was then that every single man, woman and child present made their way, silently and with a remarkable calmness, one by one, up to the 9/11 memorial sculpture that sits in front of the gazebo. The Shrewsbury Garden Club had provided everyone there with a long stemmed red carnation fancied with red, white and blue ribbons. In a quiet procession they walked to the memorial, placed their carnation at the base, some pausing to say a prayer or maybe remember a loved one or friend. Now and then I would catch a tear with my telephoto lens and I would pull back to give them their leave. I thought of Laura Bush and how moved she might be at this simple and beautiful display of unity and pride – pride in our country and pride in our community here in our small town of Shrewsbury, New Jersey.

There are many pictures here – only wish that I could have captured every single person, it was a bit hard as there were tears on more than one end of the camera.

C.M. McLoughlin, a writer and editor from New Jersey and New York, can be reached at mcloughlin43@gmail.com.