Musings: CDs shine for those we lost

The 25th anniversary of 9/11 may be over, but the lives of those lost that day and since are being remembered on the fence behind the Congregational Church of Patchogue on East Main Street.

"The 9/11 Memorial CD Fence," started in July, is a community project of compassion, remembrance and tribute. Ever notice how the shiny side of a CD can shimmer a rainbow of color in the sunlight? With 9/11 approaching, I realized hanging CDs would make a wonderful tribute.

So, I gave blank CDs and string to passersby. Other people brought their old music CDs, like "Trini Lopez's Greatest Hits." And I bought more so people could tie a CD to the fence in honor of a friend or relative.

Our target is 3,000 CDs, symbolic of those who were lost. When the sun goes down, they reflect the lights — in memory of those who perished.

Like fading memories, CDs are supposedly items of the past. And like CDs, we have a dark side, but the other side is where the music plays. I realized there's another side to everything. Our CDs are a beautiful reflection of how no life lost is forgotten.

One young woman, carrying her infant in her sling, tied a CD in remembrance of her grandfather who died in the Twin Towers. Neither one had met him — both having been born after 2001. Her infant was the man's great-granddaughter.

The perpetrators of 9/11 wanted to divide the nations affected by the attacks. As the sun rises and sets, along with the headlights of cars entering and exiting the parking lot, colorful prisms are created. We are reminded that we are what we reflect. Let us, together, help build a CD fence reflecting light, love, compassion, resilience and unity.

As people bring their discs and string, they can offer a prayer or moment of silence and reflect love into the world.

— The Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter, Patchogue