In Memoriam: Marina Naumann (Part Two)

My loved-one just again. Best known shot of Marina, taken 1990. She was a pretty woman... Just look in their blue eyes...

By Joachim Jacob

Especially to all of my friends who are supporting Warthog News: The remains of Marina will be buried now on an anonyme Buddhistic urnfield at Ruhleben Cemetery, Berlin, Germany, Friday, June 30, 2010. For the funeral, two days ago I selected the following individual music (Dropping off all standard organ music):

Intro:

Mike + The Mechanics - All I Need Is A Miracle '96 (Promo Clip 1996). BTW: As I meet Marina for first time 13 years ago, this CD was one of her favorites.




Burial speech transcript, provided by me to the speaker (in German language only)

Wir trauern heute um Marina Naumann aus Berlin. Sie starb am 17. Juni an den Folgen einer unheilbaren Krebserkrankung. Die Ärzte hatten ihr bestenfalls noch ein paar Wochen bis zwei, drei Monate gegeben. Wohl keiner hätte geglaubt, dass daraus ein halbes Jahr werden sollte – zwar mit sich abwechselnden Höhen und Tiefen, aber immerhin noch ein bisschen länger in dieser unserer Welt.

Marina, die am 29. April noch ihren 58. Geburtstag erleben durfte, schien sich erstaunlich gefasst in ihr Schicksal zu fügen. Nur selten klagte sie über Ängste, Albträume, ihre plötzliche Hilflosigkeit und das Warten auf den Tod.

Niemand wird je erfahren, was während dieser schweren Zeit wirklich in ihrem Kopf vorging, was sie innerlich durchmachen musste.

Zeitlebens war Marina eine starke, selbstbewusste und äußerst attraktive Frau. Ihren Job machte sie perfekt, sowohl als Arztsekretärin in verschiedenen Praxen wie auch zuletzt als medizinische Schreibkraft am PC-Heimarbeitsplatz.

Selbst in den letzten Monaten ihres Daseins war Marina unglaublich tapfer und voller Lebensmut. Sie lachte oft, machte Späßchen, zeigte aber auch Galgenhumor.

Als ein dem Tod geweihter Tumor-Patient erwies sie sich immer wieder als Stehaufmännchen, über das zudem ein besonders guter Schutzengel gewacht haben muss.

Marinas lang gehegter Wunsch, einen treuen Hund als vierbeinigen Freund zu haben, ging zwar nicht mehr in Erfüllung. Dafür aber ihr letzter Wille: Zu Hause in vertrauter Umgebung weiterleben zu können und dort auch zu sterben – nicht aber in einem Hospiz.

Ermöglicht haben ihr das fürsorgliche Menschen. Vor allem der ehemalige Lebensgefährte und sie immer noch liebende einzige Freund, Joachim Jacob. In ungezählten Stunden war er nahezu täglich als private Pflegeperson und engster Vertrauter für sie da – stets darauf aus, ihr so viel wie möglich an Lebensqualität zu bieten. Dazu zählten erlebnisreiche Rollstuhlausflüge wie in den Zoo und in den Tierpark, aber auch das Zubereiten gemeinsamer Mahlzeiten oder einfach nur das Zusammensein, um einander zuzuhören und miteinander zu reden.

Einfühlsam und engagiert waren auch die sympathische Home Care Ärztin Frau Dr. Sybille Radtke sowie das Personal des ambulanten palliativen Pflegedienstes der Sozialstation Friedenau.

In Marinas persönlichem Nachlass fand sich eine handschriftliche Notiz mit folgendem Wortlaut: "Die Lehren des Buddhismus anzuwenden bedeutet, einen Kampf zwischen den negativen und positiven Kräften im eigenen Geist zu führen."

Diesen Kampf muss sie bis zuletzt geführt haben.


Farewell:

The Rose - final song of the movie sound track "The Rose", featuring Bette Middler.



This song was wrote by Amanda McBroom.

On her website, Amanda wrote:


HOW "THE ROSE" CAME TO BE

People often ask me what inspired me to write The Rose. Here is the story:

I was driving down the freeway one afternoon, some time in 1977-something.

I was listening to the radio. A song came on the radio. It was "MAGDALENA" by Danny O'Keefe, sung by Leo Sayer. I liked it immediately. My favorite line was "Your love is like a razor. My heart is just a scar."I thought,"Ooh, I love that lyric."

As I continued to drive down the road the thought came, I don't agree with the sentiment. I don't think love is like a razor. (I was younger then.) What, then, do I think love is? Suddenly, it was as if someone had opened a window in the top of my head. Words came pouring in. I had to keep reciting them to myself as I drove faster and faster towards home, so I wouldn't forget them. I screeched into my drive way, ran into the house, past various bewildered dogs and cats and husbands, and sat down at the piano. Ten minutes later, THE ROSE was there.

I called my husband, George, into the room and played it for him, as I always did with my new songs. He listened, and quietly said to me, "You've just written a standard." I protested that no one but my pals would ever hear it. (This is long before I had ever recorded anything.) He said,"Mark my words, something is going to happen with this song."

A year or so later, a great young songwriter named Michele Brourman, who became my primary musical collaborator and best friend, said "Listen. There is this movie coming out called "The Rose". They are looking for a title tune. Do you want me to submit this to them?" I had never really tried to submit this song to anyone. I didn't consider myself a song writer at the time. So I said, "Sure." Originally the film had been called THE PEARL, which was Janis Joplin's nick name. But her family refused permission to use that name. Lucky for me. "Pearl" is MUCH harder to rhyme.

She submitted the tune to the producers, who HATED it. They thought it was dull and a hymn and NOT rock and roll and totally wrong. They put it in the reject box. But the divine Paul Rothchild, who was the music supervisor on the film, and had been Janis Joplin's producer, hauled it out and asked them to reconsider. They again said no. So he mailed it to Bette. She liked it, and that's how it got into the film and changed my life forever.

I have never written another song as quickly. I like to think I was the window that happened to be open when those thoughts needed to come through. I am eternally grateful... to Bette... to Paul Rothchild... to Bill Kerby, who wrote the screenplay...to my friend who first submitted it for me... and to the Universe for speaking to me in the first place and for showing me what I truly believe.


*Here are the lyrics:

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed

It's the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose

* To obtain permission for reprinting any of the lyrics to THE ROSE or for their use in any publications or recordings, Contact Warner Chappell at www.warnerchappell.com

Source

Best song to say farewell to Marina.

See also:
In Memoriam: Marina Naumann

BTW: So I hope, this burial will be very good. But there are tears on my eyes still everyday.