9 to 5

Late last Summer I decided to rent a car and drive through the small South Jersey town where I spent most of my childhood. Cinnaminson was only 11 miles from my loft in Philadelphia but over the last 25 years I've only returned a couple of times. I guess my main purpose for this return was to try to find some of the places from my childhood. Places open at night with bright neon or plastic color lights, and not the dull beige and grey that has infest today's cities. This small town and the even smaller towns around it were full of diners, motels, liquor stores, hobby shops and fast food establishments brightly and oh so colorfully lit at night. While I knew I wasn't going to find what I was looking for I was still shocked that only one original place still existed and that the drive down the interstate highway that bisected the town was dark by 8pm. This lonely motor lodge was all that was left and the smaller towns of Palmyra, Riverton, Riverside and Delran were no different. My heart broke.