Jokers to the Right.com: Bucks County, PA 9-11 Memorial Dedication

My mother attended the dedication for the Garden of Reflection yesterday in Lower Makefield, PA. She offers her thoughts and some pictures:

I attended the official dedication of the "Garden of Reflection" on Saturday, Sept.30th, 2006. It is the official memorial for the state of Pennsylvania for the victims of the 9/11 attacks. It began as a tribute to the 17 victims from Bucks County PA. who perished in the World Trade Center attacks. Having never received any remains of their loved ones who were killed on 9/11, three widows and one mother decided to build a lasting memorial to honor the lives and the sacrifice of their loved ones. These women were the sole genesis for the memorial and the driving force behind all the fund raising, designing and construction.

The memorial is a beautiful and serene place to come think and reflect, as the name implies. It has two fountains surronded by two circles of glass panes. There are 17 trees surrounding the circle, one for each victim, and 42 lights, which represent the children of the 17 local victims. One glass circle has the names of the 17 Bucks County victims and the other has the names of all 2,996 victims from 9/11. There is an actual beam from the World Trade Center that you can touch, and an American flag that was flown over Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA (where Flight 93 crashed) before being raised at the memorial.

The dedication itself was tastefully done. It was not sad or somber. The main theme was the assurance that even out of tremendous darkness there will always be light. There was bell ringing after each name, a military jet fly over, music, and prayers. Speeches were given by the women who brought this to fruition, as well as Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick, Philadelphia radio personality Michael Smerconish and CN8's Lnn Doyle, all Bucks County residents. At the conclusion, everyone was given a flower and were allowed to walk through the memorial and leave flower wherever they chose.

This memorial will always be special in that it was conceived, built, and dedicated to the world by ordinary people who were turned extraordinary by the events of 9/11. The government was not involved in any way except to ask if this could be made the official memorial of Pennsylvania.

Alot of hard work and effort went to the Garden of Reflection. Having donated money to this cause, and seeing it come to fruition, I feel that this memorial is a part of all of us who gave and all who were present at the dedication left a part of us with it.

Everyone should go and see and feel how breathtakingly beautiful this tribute is and how it brings peace and cleansing to the inner soul. It is truly a sight to behold not only by the eyes but by the heart as well. It is a proud achievement to show the world that Americans will never stay down, that we will always rise up that there will always be light.