Remembering Mark Wine.

To Remember Mark Wine

July 26, 1952 — June 2, 2009

The sky has its Milky Way But I have more: I have memory of that evening When I saw you gaze at me on the verge of tears. by Jose Marti

I first met Mark and Barbara at their wedding in Las Vegas. Wendy Lee took and introduced me to Mark and Barbara. I recall they were extremely kind and hospitable. Their marriage was a fusion of two separate yet interconnected souls. Their union expressed the inner joy of love. For Barbara, Mark's passing will be very difficult to bear. The undertow of sadness is strong. One never gets over the death of a love one; at best one learns to live with it. Barbara. I am sure, will live the remaining years as fully and meaningfully as possible. I am certain this would be Mark's greatest wish. Barbara throughout Mark's ordeal revealed uncompromising love and spiritual faith, two basic individual values. Mark fought to the very end on the barricades of life against cancer — a struggle against the unforeseeable intrusion of the tragic absurdity of man's fate. Today, we mourn his death and celebrate his life and the meaning of human life. Mark was a dedicated surfer at heart. He loved the different moods of the ocean. The ocean triggered deep and wonderful feelings in him. In his feelings he recognized his inner self. He understood the ancient truth that one has to stay in tune with one's feelings to have a vital and undivided self. He learned to flow with the ocean currents, rolling with its eternal waves. Mark was non–egotistical and at one with nature and its tides of life and death, Life emerged from the ocean millions of years ago and sooner or later it will reclaim all of us. We are reminded in sad times like this that TIME is all we have. And in the end we don't even have time. This is not a bad thing in itself, since we can only speak of life and its labyrinth journey because of the dimension of time. The shape of life's myriad forms is created by time. The world is full of uncertainty and dismay, and yet we are reminded by human history and art that our lives have a sense of purpose and contain emotional strength and resilience. We can't hide from the inevitability of pain and loss, we can only survive it. The past and present cannot guarantee a safe future without tragedy. Death took Mark Wine from us, yet his presence remains part of us. Termination of life is meaningful within life's proper course in our universe. Everyday life can be unyielding, certainly for those who have incurable illnesses. Mark never succumbed to resignation or self–pity. Central to Mark's life were the absolute values of goodness, friendships, forgiveness and love. He understood the functional and sociological importance of these values between individuals and society or between individuals themselves. How does one make sense of a person's life with commemorative or tributary language? Any attempt to use words as digging sticks to unearth another human being's most salient features is fraught with structural limitations. Sensitive to the limitations of language, what is said here about Mark Wine will be incomplete. He was a radiant personality. He understood that the gift of friendship was worth more than all the tea in China. And, he never tried to pass himself off as something other than he was. Mark is no longer with us but we hear the echo of his calming voice. We can have a glimpse of him at dusk on the other side of the bridge. He is smiling and riding perfect waves. His search for the perfect wave has come to an end. “Hey, you guys I must be in heaven. No one is dropping in on me!” The spirit of surfing teaches us to be civil towards others. Mark Wine exhibited this spirit. He was passionate about surfing. He wasn't a famous or a great surfer, but nevertheless he was a champion. Our age can be designated as the Age of Anonymity. Individual man is swallowed–up by the masses. The individual loses his uniqueness and the ability to use his fecund imagination. Mark carefully maintained a self–creating outlook on life. He was wise enough not to be too moralistic and understood that life was largely determined by chance; nevertheless, he understood that each of us in our unique situations must assume responsibility for our actions. Central to his life was his faithfulness and loving–kindness towards others, his friends and family. Like his surfing his personality was fluid. It must be noted that Mark Wine was the kindest person; his language and actions never performed an act cruelty. Mark Wine lived, with generosity and unlimited kindness, a life committed to tolerance and human dignity. Mark's life should inspire us to promote fairness, reason, faith, peace, meaning and justice in our daily interactions with others and the world.

Martin Sugarman Publisher

June 28th Paddle Out