Marla

In the Spring of 2005, I came across an article in Rolling Stone about a voluntary humanitarian Aid worker named Marla Ruzicka.

The story told of how Marla had worked, somewhat obsessively in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan to help innocent civilians whose lives had been ravaged by US bombs. She did this by appealing, successfully, to US government and military officials for financial help. Marla devoted her life to assisting residents of these small villages to get the care and resources they needed to rebuild their lives.

Marla was killed on the highway in Baghdad by a suicide bomber. She was 28.

The account of Marla’s life read like the biography of a saint. She showed us what it means to live at a 100% level of caring and compassion. Though I feel certain I will never attain the extreme level of selfless dedication Marla exemplified in her short life, I did what I could do: I wrote this song.

After “Marla” had been recorded, I sent an email with an MP3 to the people at the headquarters of CIVIC, Marla’s non-profit organization. After they heard it, they passed it along to some of her relatives.

First I received an email back from one of Marla’s cousins, stating “I don’t know who you are, but I’ve listened to “Marla” over and over…” Then, on April 16, 2010 I received an email from Marla’s dad, Cliff Ruzicka, in Lakeport, CA, informing me that he and his wife had just listened to the song, calling it a “wonderful gift”. The day they received it was, coincidentally, the 6th year anniversary of Marla’s death.

There are no words to describe how this felt to me. I am filled with a deep sense of humility and honor to have been able to write “Marla”, and to pass it on as both a memorial to her, and hopefully as a motivating inspiration to others.

For more information about CIVIC, (Campaign For Innocent Victims In Conflict), please visit their website: civic.org