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It is with great shock and sadness that we announce the death of Maciej Faflak, co-creator of the Waga Brothers Festival and Chair of our Jury.
Maciej, who was 65, died a tragic death on the evening of December 12th 2008, run over by a vehicle on a Podlasie road. Taken from us abruptly in the midst of his active life and work, he will be greatly missed...
Members of the NAREW Society
Friends
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Maciej Faflak was born in 1943 and spent his childhood and school years in Bielsko-Biała, the capital of Poland's Silesian Beskid region. A graduate of the Faculty of History of Warsaw University, where he subsequently worked as a lecturer, Maciej was removed from his post after Martial Law was introduced in Poland in 1981. Further work was as a teacher in primary and middle schools, and as a journalist and co-publisher of underground press in the years 1982-1989. Involved with documentary film-making from 1985 onwards, Maciej worked in Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Russia, with a major involvement being natural-history film-making along Poland's River Biebrza after 1987. For this whole period he was in cooperation - as screenwriter, commentator and co-director - with director Joanna Wierzbicka. Together they have been winners of several Polish and international film awards. In 1992, they established the MALWA Film Agency, whose output includes nature and historical films, among them re-created documentaries co-produced i.a. with the Kiev-based UKRTELEFILM. In recent years, Maciej had chaired the Jury at the Five Waga Brothers International Festivals of Nature Films, an event he co-founded with Joanna Wierzbicka under the aegis of The NAREW Society, of which he was a Board Member. Maciej likewise co-created the Festival's sister event, the EKORAJ International Ecological Forum. His experience here led to his also serving on the Juries of: the Ekomir 99 film festival taking place at Belarus's Berezynski Biosphere Reserve, Ekofilm 99 at Czesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, Ekotopfilm 99 at Żilina in Slovakia, and the 2008 Man and Nature International Film Festival held in Irkutsk.
For Maciek,
Instead of hands, eyes, sincerity and warmth,
cold electronic mails,
Instead of the scent of the grass and the forest, the sight of the bushes and the towering trees,
just recollections of the meadows, moose and ruffs.
All of that you had in you:
sensitivity, understanding, patience, calm, and love for Nature... and the World,
But instead of drawing joy and satisfaction from your successes, HEAVEN...
And you could have enriched humanity with your boundless knowledge of Nature for so much longer yet.
[A 1907 Polish-language poem entitled "Cicho" ("Silently") by K. Gliński is then cited]
An unexpected emptiness on the forest track, and dark and light,
Only who now will hold or stroke the homeless dog, longing so for warmth and love?
And just who will imbibe to the full the beauty of Nature, without ulterior motive?
Who will pause by the snapped branch, who will pick up the injured nestling?
Who will allow the white flakes of snow to cover the Biebrza meadows?
Who will understand, help, nurture, each blade of grass, each leaf?
Who will listen out for the barking of beloved dogs?
Who will search for them in the woods?
And how to explain to them now, that you are far off in the afterlife?
Maciek, such cruel, heartless, loveless times of crude oil and electrons are now upon us,
but do not concern yourself - NATURE has raised its MONUMENT for you.
A living, green, joyous, vibrant, smiling monument.
Listen Maciek:
[Prose in Polish by J.Chrząszczewska and W. Haberkantówna written in 1907 is then cited]
Maciek, it was worth loving nature, for she always loved you back, without limits or reservations...
We join you all in the deepest sadness...
We join you all in the deepest sadness over the loss of Maciej - to our mind a man of great integrity, exceptional activeness, wisdom and honesty; and a true lover of nature and history. Now, alas, much of what he had yet hoped to achieve will remain forever on the drawing-board. Unless, perchance, it is somehow put into effect in the world Maciej has now passed over into?
Irena and Wojciech Batura of Augustów
13.02.2008
Dear Joanna,
We are all shocked and left despondent by this awful news. Our thoughts and hearts are with you.
(Consul-General of the Republic of Poland in Irkutsk)
15.02.2008
Joanna, please accept our sincerest sympathies...
If there is any way we can be of help, please be in touch. Our thoughts are with you.
A great, great sorrow and an unutterable loss...
15.02.2008
Joanna, we would like to convey to you our enormous sense of sorrow at the loss of such a fine man. While it is true that it was not given to us to meet Maciej more than the one time (at the First Sieradz Encounters with Nature Film-making), we were all of one mind in summing the two of you up as personalities of a kind one meets only rarely these days - people who simply infect others with their boundless passion and devotion to nature. Above all, we admired you for your exceptional energies, dogged determination and steady resolve to achieve the undertakings you had planned out, notwithstanding every possible obstacle placed in your path.
The Environmental Education Centre in Sieradz
15.02.2008
Like his hundreds of friends and admirers from around the world, I was shocked to learn of the tragic accident which took away our amiable, knowledgeable Chairman of the Jury, Mr. Maciej Faflak.
'Maachis' as I used to call him, was a special friend, whose warm hospitality I will never forget. On my first visit it was 'Maachis' - a tall unassuming personality, who met me at the Warsaw airport, and gave me my first insights into the history of the Waga Festival, and his pioneering efforts with his partner Joanna Wierzbicka. Later, it was 'Maachis' I would always turn to, when I needed help or explanation of Polish or Waga's heritage or history.
We had a special brand of quiet mutual respect, and I shall miss his tall, warm presence amidst us, as I know Joanna, his abiding partner will, apart from his little companion, the brown Dachsund, which he always carried with him, in his arms or on a leash!!!
May his noble soul rest in peace.
(Jury Member at Festivals IV and V)
It was very sad news indeed. I really liked Maciej, he was one of a kind and always very caring and friendly. Life is a mystery, you never know what is waiting. And yet, in spite of that knowledge, we have such difficulties to enjoy and fully appreciate all good things in life. I really hope that the Festival will carry on, if I know Joanna right she will find the proper solutions.
Dynamo Film
(Member of the 2008 Festival Jury)
Dear Joanna,
How terrible to learn about the death of Maciej Faflak. So tragic at such a young age! My condolences for you and his family.
I do hope you find help to continue the Waga Brothers Festival in 2010.
Monique van den Broek
(Filmproductie van den Ende c.v.)
With the tragic and untimely death of Maciej Faflak, our world loses a dedicated nature-lover, film-maker, anthropologist and historian, and a human being of compassion, warmth and charm. We will always remember with affection that kind - even soft-hearted - figure of long stride and white hair, ready chuckle and twinkling eye; as well as his immense academic knowledge and considerable artistic talent.
(Jury Member at Festivals II, III, IV i V)
Joanna, please accept my heartfelt condolences regarding Maciej's death. While I only attended the Festival once (the first time), I have very warm recollections of what was a happy and memorable occasion. Maciek and yourself made a truly impressive couple. May he rest in peace.
A.A. (Tony) Richards, Lincoln, Great Britain
Dear Joanna,
I'm very sorry for Maciej, My deepest condolences and sorrow...
I had same experience, son of our very good friends died also in car accident a few days before Christmas.
As a young boy I watched the films the two of you made.
I would now like to offer my sympathies following the death of Mr Maciej Faflak.
15.02.2008
Joanna, the news of Maciek's death saddened us greatly. We will always remember our last meeting at Iława, as well as one of the first, at the seaside where we took teddy bears for a bathe! We are with you.
Magda Koczkowska
I came across Maciej in the course of my Opposition activities once martial law had been declared in Poland. He was one of the few to grasp that the upcoming collapse of communism was an intellectual challenge, with mindless - belated - copying of solutions known from the USA and Western Europe likely to reduce Poland to the status of little more than a semi-colony. Alas, that's precisely what happened, and today our country is as helpless as the West when it comes to dealing with such 21st-century problems as the exhaustion of resources and energy sources, and a sick financial system that stands in the way of the development and widespread introduction of alternative technologies. Compared with us, China has proved far more adept at drawing benefit from the collapse of Maoism. Here, the intellectual potential of the likes of Maciej Faflak was irrevocably lost.
A historian by training, he knew a great deal - and mused in the most interesting way - about such topics as religious adherence and "nature" in the broadest sense of the term. Only a small fragment of what he knew or thought was ever put to use in his film work or in public pronouncements at Festivals. I had at least counted on him finishing a book on cryptozoology.
13.12.2008, 12:44
It is very sad. I knew Maciek for 25 years. Just after martial law was declared, we carried around and dished out underground press, got to know the Biebrza Marshes, discovered Budy, etc.
13.12.2008, 16:46
It is sad, but HE is now viewing us from the other side of the rainbow, and maybe right now thinking up a new concept - heavenly this time - the road to... eternity. For him that road was both beautiful and painful. We will never forget someone from THOSE years. Goodbye old FRIEND.
13.12.2008 11:54
In memory of a great man with who I spent many fine and unforgettable moments at Budy and at Trzcianne in BIEBRZA NATIONAL PARK.
I honour your memory and will never forget you...
13.12.2008, 12:08
That is exactly the man I saw in my neighbourhood, on the other side of the Biebrza river. May his soul rest in peace...
13-12-2008 13:21
You were here, but - please believe me - you still are.
15.12.2008 08:00
"Everybody is said to be great once they have passed away, but Maciek really was one of a kind" - this is how journalist Aneta Zamojska begins her recollection of the late film-maker who died so tragically. "His erudition and knowledge on every topic was simply stunning. But Maciek never boasted of it - in fact quite the opposite. He was modest, quiet, somewhere off on the sidelines. He didn't like the glare. He didn't need much in the way of money. He often worked for nothing, it being enough for him to get by somehow. He was just inured to most things. He liked doing what he did, and did it with passion. He was also a great gentleman, treating all with respect, women in particular. He was a patient, understanding and fine man, but those words do not fully do him justice. In fact, there are no words. Those who knew Maciek will understand that. I do hope he's now happy "up there", and that his wise countenance is looking down on us all. We will certainly miss him. Closing, I would just say that I'm glad to have known him. He was simply a genuine person of great worth."
Thanks to Maciej Faflak among others, films from the Nature Festivals have made their way to Primary School No. 1 in Grajewo.
18.12.2008
He was a great person - of vast knowledge, intelligence and boundless culture. Quiet, modest, and quite irreplaceable. They just don't make them that way anymore. It is a huge loss. Goodbye Maciek!.
18.12.2008, 17:52
The funeral service took place in the Augsburg-Evangelical Chapel in Białystok, being followed by burial at the cemetery in Trzcianne, by the birch trees, and so not far at all from the cottage Maciek had grown to love so much.
I would like to say a most sincere "God bless" to all of you - known and unknown - who showed me the kind of person Maciek was and who sang him last goodbyes, as well as to all the friends who went through it all with me.
My special thanks go out to Pastor Tomasz Wikłarz from Białystok and Pastor Marcin Tysz from Pisz for their words both moving and uplifting, and in general for making it such a fine and dignified farewell.
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On December 17th, Bishop Zdzisław Tranda bade a very beautiful and moving farewell to Maciej at the Evangelical Reformed Church in Warsaw. I extend my warmest thanks to the Bishop for the support he has offered both of us over 25 years.
I hold Maciek in my memory as a person who loved the world and everything living in it.
Maciek, whose tone and sincere warmth just encouraged one to talk sincerely.
Maciek, who would not speak badly of others.
And would always be able to find justifications for others.
That is a rare trait only given to the great ones among us.
And that is undoubtedly what Maciek was...
We met while martial law was in place in Poland. He brought us into the underground activity he was involved in.
It was a time to build true friendships.
Ours passed successfully through various tests and trials.
You loved all creatures.
When in spring 2008 we met by chance - Joanna, you and I - I confided in you both that I was feeling bad, but that what was worrying me most was what would happen with my dear little kitty "afterwards" - when I was no longer around. At once you both said that she would be with you, and a weight was lifted from me.
On January 12th 2009 (by which time you were no longer with us), I went outside with your Beta for a morning walk. Shortly beyond the gate, she put her paws down and refused to budge. I did not know how to get her going again. Then you came to me with help, Maciek: I told Beta that we were going off "to look for Maciek". She reacted to your name and for the rest of the walk we followed your trail with Beta taking the lead all the way.
Maciek, from the heavenly land, please be a guide and advisor for Joanna. She needs you. Keep your eye on her...
Warsaw, 13th January 2009.
It is now more than a month since the tragic, premature, unnecessary death that found its first reflection in the misery and anger of those of us left behind here on Earth. For, to put it bluntly, all of us simply will not readily consent to the death of a man we feel should still be alive, be working, be delighting in the beauty of nature, whose soulmate he surely was! We decry the death of a person in their prime, who should be living on in our earthly vale and not somewhere far off - now forever beyond the human horizon, beyond our imaginings and belief - even with the use of our best and most modern scientific attainments...
I get the feeling that I've known Maciej Faflak and Joanna Wierzbicka forever. I can't even recall when we first met up. In any case, it is for a long time now that I have known Joanna's beautiful nature films, and then their joint work - including that relating to history - some of whose scenarios I have had the huge pleasure and satisfaction to review. I used to meet Maciek as a fellow historian at the University, in libraries, and then at their nice, welcoming flat in Śniadeckich Street, or at the TV studios. Maciej Faflak's favourite library in Warsaw was the National Library. It was in the Humanities' Hall there that he asked me years ago whether I would consider taking on the task of guiding him through to his Doctorate. In line with Maciej's interests, the theme of the work was to be connected with the history of animals now mostly lost to us for centuries.
Thanks to the late Maciej Faflak, I learned to identify the many animals that lived in the old Polish lands, in Ukraine, as so very well described by the seasoned historian, cartographer and army engineer, Wilhelm Beauplan (c.1600-1675). Henryk Sienkiewicz made use of the description of Ukraine from the pen of the Frenchman also known as an architect and as the creator of numerous fortifications on the edges of Poland. An interesting smallish animal finding refuge in Ukraine and Podole that Beauplan described was the bobak marmot - a rodent resembling our Tatra Mountain alpine marmot which served as a food source in Ukraine and beyond. However, for the Tartars it was one of the untouchable animals. Maciej brought together the information on such creatures of old, tracking them down through history in Norway, Sweden, Siberia and Kamchatka - and on other continents. Fascinated by the stories of the Siberian elephant - as known from many and various more or less well-known tales from travellers and diplomats - Maciej painstakingly collated the source information. Equally interesting are the hedgehog, pygmy shrew, water shrew and mole - smaller insectivores all in the same Order and in fact related to the primates not all that distantly. "Such a situation may give rise to questions of a broader nature, not least teleological ones" - so wrote the late Maciej Faflak, in a part of his work he left with me, seeking to come back to it in further discussion. In fact, he also left for later the potential promoter of his Doctorate, since he never did know how to concentrate on just one subject or matter.
Maciej was not much like the scientist of today at all, being more in the nature of a French encylopaedist or a kind of rummage out scouting for clues, and hence an outstanding observer of nature who defied the evaluation and classification deemed so essential in today's confining and over-administered academic world.
For Maciek was as much of an artist as he was an academic - both sensitive and subtle. As a historian in the strict sense he came through best as the writer of film scripts and scenarios. Let us recall here Kwiaty Targowicy ("Flowers of Targowica"), which he made so very successfully with Director Joanna Wierzbicka. The title proposed years before - "A Pole by choice and her Zofiówka" - was also a very good one. This excellent film showed us a side to Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki not usually visible in the assessments and characterisations of this magnate as a traitor to his homeland. Of course, the film-makers in no way sought to deny the facts of the matter, but they did also strive to show certain other aspects of Potocki's life and work. They made it clear that history does not die, but lives on in the generations that follow, in works and in recollections - all of which were beautifully unearthed for the purposes of the film.
There is no room in this brief recollection for details of this fascinating thread to the activity of Maciej Faflak, whose co-worker on so many films has been Joanna. But what does need to be stressed is what is undoubtedly visible in virtually every line of Faflak script - the talent and passion of our dear departed Maciek. How great a sadness it is that he will never write again!
But he remains in our memories, and lives on for us in the work he left behind!
(Warsaw - Białystok)
Dear Joanna!
We are very grateful to you for informing us, even of news so very sad. It came as a great shock to us, and we share your pain and sadness at the loss of Maciej - that big-hearted human being of such great intellect. All we can offer are our most profound condolences and sympathy, as well as our sincere hope and belief that God will reward Maciej for his goodness. May he rest easy in his Trzcianne ground.
Lithuania, 28.01.2009
Joanna,
It's hard for me to put into words how I felt when I learnt of Maciej's death. I began to recall a host of moments from times when we met, mainly at Festivals, but also during holidays or while I was in Warsaw, passing through. It was in fact at Budy on a summer?s evening more than 10 years ago that I first met Maciek. We were sitting around the fire when he came and sat down beside us, having returned from Łomża, and most likely come on foot from that same Osowiec. He straight away held me spellbound with his knowledge and intelligence. I knew from the very beginning that this was someone who loved nature and the world of the marshes. Maciek is one of the people who have made sure that the Biebrza is more than just some river for me. Rather, it has become a symbol of that group of places to which I will always return eagerly. But now those just will not be quite the same Marshes - they will be that bit sadder, I guess. But perhaps it will be enough to look up at the sky, at the Sun, at the flowery meadows and floodlands to have the smile return to my face, knowing that you - Maciek - are forever now present there.
28-01-2009, Łódź
Our Dear Joanna!
We have been reading the recollections on the subject of that GREAT HUMAN BEING, MACIEJ, and in so doing found the tears forcing their way into our eyes. There is everything there - in that document allowing people so close to the heart of the man to have their say.
And yet today it is still just so hard to come to terms with the fact that such a DEAR PERSON is no longer among us!
We are so grateful to you for allowing us to share the great pain of the loss of someone so close to you and ourselves. Please forgive me, but as I write these words in a bit of an unplanned way I have eyes full of tears!
Please accept hugs from us, and let us know if there is any way we may help you.
- friends from those toughest times in the 1980s
Iława, 6.02.2009
And how will everything go on without Maciej?
At the moment we just don't know and don't even try to imagine it.
Please don't lose your enthusiasm for the Festival.
You have fantastic support from friends all over the world.
For sure that will help you in your suffering.
All the best to you, from the bottom of my heart!
Studio Hamburg Produktion
NDR Naturfilm
Dear Joanna,
We were very sad to learn of your painful loss - of the death of your friend and colleague Maciej Faflak. Please accept from us our sincerest sympathies. He was our "brother in spirit" too, and he is now gone. May he rest in peace.
Recalling all those beautiful hours, days and weeks spent by the Biebrza and in your home, we remain,
Sincerely Yours:
Joachim, Heidi, Hinrich, Hilke, Jőrg, Folke, Mette, Lotta and Lüder from Rostock
Germany, 20.02.2009
I will not bid farewell to you, dear Maciek, for you will always have a place in our hearts. And one day we shall meet again on the meadows by the Biebrza, and things will again be as they were. We will take pleasure in that and smile. Our sincerest sympathy goes out to you, dear Joanna, and to all those close to our friend.
Grajewo, 24.02.2009
Dear Joanna,
I join you in your deep sorrow over Maciej's death. He lives on in my memory as a man of remarkable intellect who was always so interesting to talk to. I must say that I drew long-term pleasure and benefit from our conversations. The loss of Maciej has plunged me into sadness.
Sincere good wishes to you
Germany, 3.03.2009
Dear Ms Wierzbicka,
It was only a few days ago at Warsaw University's History Meetings Centre that I learned that Maciej Faflak had died.
While I had not seen him for over a year and a half, I felt at that moment that I had lost a desire long nurtured in my memory and soul to return to a place I had discovered while wandering with my wife Barbara to places previously unknown to us, as we so often do.
It was by no means the case that we were wanting to see the tiny hamlet of Budy, as described in the guidebook. Rather, we had turned off the road on to a forest track because the latter had seemed to invite us to do so, because it was empty, because the forest was beautiful and because it seemed to us that the secret world of the marshes might lie beyond it.
Later, a more and more sandy road passed by what was not quite a manor, nor quite an old wooden house, picturesquely located on a mound among the trees, before leading us on and out to a beautiful country cottage with a thatched roof.
We slowed down, taken by the contrast of colour between the old dark walls of wood and some red and green patches that proved to be painted spades and rakes, water buckets, well housings and water-raising crane, and white wooden ducks on the lace window decorations. We would have driven on, had it not been for the sudden emergence from behind the outbuildings and wooden steps leading up to the loft of what was immediately identifiable as the master of the place - a man of silver hair, sunburnt face and light apparel who - when viewed against the background of the wooden cottage - could be said to have had something of Kołodziej (the legendary 9th century founder of Poland?s ruling Piast dynasty) about him, or even of the legendary founders of Warsaw, Wars and Sawa. Yet at the same time he was different, noble somehow, not quite suited to these surroundings, but nevertheless forming an intimate and inseparable association with them.
Accompanying this master of all he surveyed - his master - was a small, white and red dog. So we came to a halt, shyly, for a moment, leaving the car in the middle of the track. And that was how our acquaintanceship with Mr Maciej Faflak began - with a joint bustle around the outside of the house, and with photos by the well and by the dark board-walls, by the sheds propped against them and the flowering lilacs.
There was more and more talk - about him, about films, about the Festival of spring miracles along the Rivers Biebrza and Narew, about birds, dogs, marshes, the village of Trzcianne and the city of Warsaw, about us, and about what we were doing and what we were looking for along that forest track and then suddenly by the cottage with the sign reading Budy 9.
We took the car off the road, though nobody had come along it in any case.
Inside the cottage, we drank superb tea and chatted on. The old country-dwellers' items of equipment and decoration presumably brought by our host from other houses in the hamlet now no longer existing minded us to think of where and when they had served their first owners. Now they were living on, preserving something of the spirit of the farms of old, grateful for having had their lives saved, and most obviously displaying their trust in the new owner. Everything here was cared for and in its place.
We said farewell until the time of the next Waga Brothers Film Festival, to which I received an invitation when I telephoned you, Ms Wierzbicka, once back in Warsaw.
At that time, we did not manage to get along to Tykocin and to meet once again with the resident of the cottage at Budy. What we could not know then was that he would so shortly be going off for so long. In our photographs he had only taken his leave for a moment.
What we are left with are recollections of a sunny country beyond the forest and on the edge of the marshes, to which we were suddenly introduced via a sandy road which we still promise ourselves we will visit again. Maybe one day we will manage it.
Jerzy and Barbara Kalinowscy
Warszawa, 25.02.2009
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Today it's exactly
three months without you,
but Maciek, you remain.
I recall a winter's morn,
in Warsaw.
You met me from the train...
full of: "No taxis,
it's not far off!"
And truly it was "close",
as we picked our way slowly down side-streets.
You said something,
made sense as always,
if with a little "distance",
and the wheels of my case
trundled quietly along,
and it was still dark,
and with a light mist,
down the empty streets.
And the dry snow blew
cross the road to the kerb.
But home, calm and warm,
and fresh coffee-scented,
Joanna as always
in a fine, broad dress,
full of vim and - from the off
- of great ideas...
And so into a normal day
in Warsaw,
as fine as ever.
And then lots of things
Festival-wise,
as fine as ever.
And you always making sense,
if with a little "distance",
as fine as ever.
So why then should my fondest thoughts,
be always of that winter's morn,
in Warsaw?
Of the empty streets and wisps of mist?
The snow by the kerb?
And the quiet creaking of my suitcase wheels:
creak-creak,
creak-creak,
creak-creak...
Kiev, 12.03.2009
Dear Joanna,
I read on the Internet the awful news about Maciej?s death. How could that happen? Anne and I join you in your sorrow, but are also with you, with all our hearts. Twenty years have now passed since the time we worked together along the Biebrza, but that period both difficult and beautiful is unforgettable. What you both created together back then is wonderful, and you may be proud of the renown yourself and Maciej have earned for yourselves around the world. I wish you all the strength and health you need to continue with what you had intended to do.
Warem-Müritz
Germany 25.05.2009
Dear Joanna,
We were very sad to hear about the fatal accident that happened to Maciej. What a very great tragedy for you, all his friends and the area of the Biebrza!
The last time we met him was in spring 2006 at the cottage in Budy. That?s the way we will remember him: sitting in the cottage garden, enthusiastically telling us about his future plans, surrounded by a smell of coffee and exuberantly flowering spring nature.
Joanna, we wish you all the strength to live your life without him. Our thoughts are with you.
West Terschelling, 29 04 2009
Hello Joanna,
What sad news about Maciek... I enclose photos from Irkutsk in which you are together. May I say how much I sympathise with you and share your sadness. I can well imagine how difficult you will find preparing the Festival without the help and support of the one closest to you.
Witebsk, Belarus - 23.06.2009
My Dearest,
I received your letter with the recollections of Maciek... I had already known what happened.I did not want to call or write because I realized how terribly you were suffering and I know that no words at such a moment can help, they can only hurt...
I was praying for you. I was worrying you might lose your strength.
Gliwice, 06.07.2009
I couldn't recover from the shock of the sudden death suffered by my Dear Colleague from the years of our university studies, one of the few of that time whom I'd later meet regularly in the rooms of the University and National libraries.
We would talk about our mutual friends and the paths we followed in our private and professional lives. Each of us had a passion of his own, but we never dwelled on them; rather we discussed the fields of knowledge and life we were involved in. This was something we shared without mincing any words about it.
It's very difficult to reconcile oneself to the loss of a Dear Friend, to the thought I"ll never again meet Him in the library, which I, too, visit less and less often. Instead, more and more often I come across obituaries of friends whose life is cut short by inexorable fate. What is hardest to accept is the fact that most often they are people in the prime of their creativeness or men of passion contributing to culture more glory and substance than most of the trained specialists. The losses are irretrievable.
05.07.2009 Radom, Poland