I shared in his struggles. Sometimes, every day was a struggle. I shared his triumphs. There can never be too many of those. I watched Marty shoot for the stars, and accept something much closer to ground floor reality. Yes, Marty and I, we come from the same place.
Marty had his heart broken by a woman who he still loved. He carried her picture with him everywhere he went. He'd pull it out and look at it once in a while to remind himself that the love was worth the pain. Yes, it's true, Marty and I come from the same place.
Marty was a computer guy back before the dot-com bubble burst, and though he was outpaced by technology, he never grew tired of the chase. Sometimes all we have to live on is faded glory from yesterday's race. Yup, Marty and I come from the same place.
There were many times I would find Marty at the library, and he'd have his aging laptop and connected external drives splayed out before him like a personal corporate network. He'd developed an amazing system to file all his stuff that never took him where he wanted to go. Marty and I, we're from the same place. Yes, we are.
He struggled with addictions. He was a decent man. I'd lend him five or ten bucks when he needed it, and he always paid it back. He was a humble man who wasn't afraid to share his doubts and fears. That's something I will miss about Marty. We shared a bond of trust deeper than I can share here, because Marty and I we came from the same place.
Once in awhile, we'd talk about the place we come from in whispers because it was a public library and people might take offense. Marty was sensitive to others, and he wanted to be well liked. In all his strengths and all his frailties, in all his superhuman dreams and all his humanity, Marty and I come from the same place... just like the rest of you gathered here today.
We all come from the same place and we will surely all return to Him. That place is God, and Marty he just fell asleep on the ride.
We all come from the same place and we will surely all return to Him. That place is God, and Marty he just fell asleep on the ride.
Sleep tight Marty, we'll be joining you soon.
8 comments:
I loved Marty and I think what you wrote was beautiful. I miss him very much and hearing his beautiful voice. I wish I could have saved him - as I would have saved myself at the same time. I love you Marty Osten and all your friends who saw you for what you were
I loved Marty and I think what you wrote was beautiful. I miss him very much and hearing his beautiful voice. I wish I could have saved him - as I would have saved myself at the same time. I love you Marty Osten and all your friends who saw you for what you were
I had a bittersweet relationship with Marty. He ran into many challenges towards the close of his life, but Marty managed to project an image as rich and full as his voice. Inside, however, there a great deal of loneliness and despair. I know that through all the challenges Marty faced he never truly faced one alone. He compared himself to Job in one of our last exchanges, and I reminded Marty that Job is a story of Redemption and Restoration. During all of our lives we rise and fall, gain and lose, succeed, and fail. Without knowing failure, how would we learn to triumph? Without having lost, how would we learn to appreciate what we have right now? And without having fallen, how would we ever have the opportunity to Rise?
I’m glad that you found my farewell for Marty. The memorial service Eulogy offered at the Snoqualmie United Methodist Church contained a great deal of information from Marty’s Linked-In, Facebook, and other social media sites, but what I found most comforting were the many friends who carry Marty’s memories in their hearts. People like you and I and all of them are the living memorials of Marty Osten.
I was thinking of Marty today - today is his birthday.
I wanted to reach out, see if he had gotten back on his feet. I'm saddened to hear he did not.
Marty and I became friends sometime in 2006. He was recently laid off from Sun Microsystems, and I was buying his Jeep from him. We resonated and kept in touch after he went down to California to work and engage in some business opportunities.
We kept in touch from time to time, and then I learned he had fallen on really hard times and was back in the Seattle area. We took him in for a while around 2014 for a few months, trying to help him get on his feet. I won't lie - it was a rough time and we realized that we could only do so much.
The last time I saw Marty was in early 2016 - I met him in Preston, filled his tank and gave him some cash for food. I remember him pressing me for more money, and that I got upset with him about that. I don't remember the exact words, but I told him that I wasn't able to keep helping until he found the purpose to help himself. I promised him I'd be there when he was ready, and would still end an ear. I simply wasn't giving him money when I knew it was going to vices.
2.5 years later - it's his birthday. I tried to look him up. Found mixed news.
Then I found this blog. I'm heartbroken.
Marty was a wonderful man, but his pain was too much for him. I wish him peace, and I missed chatting with him.
I miss Marty as well. A few dollars more would not have changed anything. Marty had an appointment with The Maker and Marty was right on time. I don't know the intimate details of your relationship with Marty, but what I do know is that Marty is not gone. He has been transformed from common matter into pure energy, and we will see him again. Then, we will all be in perfect relationship with each other and our God.
Until then, many Blessings,
Michael
I don't know why I decided to write this. Plenty of closer people have died in my life and I did not write them eulogies. I just think there was something special about Marty. He was unlike anyone I've ever met. He was different than me it seemed in every respect: strong and gregarious, spiritual, eternally jovial, he was what I would call a "guy's guy", a brother in arms. Again, he was everything I am not.
I met him during his one-year stint at Informix back in 1995. We were both systems engineers, we both traveled a lot to demonstrate our database engine to Sun Microsystems' sales forces around the country. In the very beginning he set a rule for our friendship: "friends do not borrow money from friends." I thought it odd as I had no intention to ever ask him for money. Obviously, he'd had a bad experience before. One time while at a bar in some airport I asked him why he didn’t drink alcohol. He said "I don't want to talk about it." That was probably the only time I ever saw anger in his face. Most of the time he was happy, optimistic and excited about life.
He was one of the most diplomatic people I've ever met. When I was outraged he had been hired at a higher position ("senior") despite the fact I had been at Informix already two years and did the exact same work, he simply looked hurt and said "frankly, I am embarrassed." He did not point out the obvious: that he was 40 years old and had a lot more career experience than I who was 29 at the time.
He told me a story about how one time a more senior co-worker invited him to his house under the pretense of friendship and then asked him if he wanted to go to bed. He declined politely. He chuckled when he recalled it. He did not feel offended or threatened. He was comfortable with his masculinity. One time I commented to him that I was surprised he enjoyed women so much because I didn’t think Germans liked sex that much compared to us Latins (I am Portuguese). He thought that was one of the funniest things he ever heard. Years later he would recall my comment and laugh about it.
Alex (aka - Unknown) I accidently deleted your beautiful recollection of Marty. Please, repost it if you can. It was wonderful.
Michael Frank Gentile
Administrator/Author
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