(MUSIC BECOMES ELEGANT JAZZ) Captions by Shrutika Gunanayagam. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2020 (BELL TOLLS) (LEAF BLOWER HUMS) (LIGHT, AMUSING MUSIC) Having a baby at a funeral home might seem weird, but for us, we are a family, and we make it work. Baby Francis is 5 months. He was born on my birthday, December the 13th, and I also have another son who was born on my birthday. You gotta feel sorry for my wife. I actually wanted to name my firstborn Francis, but Francis Sr ` Dad ` didn't agree with it. And he actually didn't agree with it three, four other times. So I had to take that opportunity and just name our baby Francis. I was totally against it, but if I can be honest, I'm quite happy right now, mm. (GRUNTS, CRIES) OK. (GRUNTS) Mm? We bring Baby to the office often ` in fact, pretty much (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) every day. Can you grab that side, dear? And we'll straighten this. We'll go on that lovely angle that we normally do. To you a bit more. This? Yup. That's perfect. (COOS SOFTLY) Whoever invented those baby carriers, that is just awesome, cos you can take care of the pepe as well as have your hands free to do your mahi. Dear, you see I got you some more perfume for your dressing room? Did you? Yeah, you're running out of White Diamonds, so I got you more. Oh wow. This brown-bottle one... The crystal one's our favourite, but I couldn't find any, dear. Which one? The brown one. Eh? Yeah. But I couldn't find any` Couldn't find the other one. No. Baby Francis is really beautiful ` bit chubby but adorable. (CLICKS TONGUE, KISSES) PHONE: Yeah, I'm just gonna... Fehi and her lips and her lipstick ` yes, does get in the way, because she just keeps smotherin' him with kisses. Yeah. (SIGHS SOFTLY) COOS: (COOS) COOS: Hello! I really do love him, cos he's sort of like mine. (GRIZZLES) BABYISHLY: 'Why you being grumpy? Yeah. 'You a grumpy bum. We go Mama? Where's Mama? (CRIES) OK. KAIORA: Is he all right? Oh, he's crying. When he becomes a sooky, Francis doesn't wanna know the baby. Hey, hey. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) Is it breakfast time? (CHUCKLES) Aw, you're so angry, cos you're hungry. (KISSES) C'mon, then. Mummy make you breakfast. The minute he grumbles, Francis grumbles too, and then somebody has to grab the baby. (LIGHT THEME MUSIC RIFF) (SOFT, SOLEMN MUSIC) (SOFT CHATTER) Today in our care, we have the late Kori Karena. (GENTLE CHATTER) Kori died in a car accident in the weekend. CHILDREN: # He honore, # he kororia, # maungarongo # ki te whenua. WOMAN: Sing. Kori was 'a' ex-Glenora Bears rugby-league player,... and he has coached many rep teams. So we've got Kori's nephew and nieces and friends from the community waiting there to embrace him. # ...oranga. # Again. Due to the injuries sustained in the car accident, we need to keep a close eye on Kori's body. (CHATTER) All you gotta do is this, eh? Tissue ` just wrap around here, just a little bit. Yup. Just gently at the earlobe. Just at the earlobe, eh? OK. Just need to jab just a little bit, but it's not bad. Just little... OK. And it won't leak out continuously, eh? OK. Because of the intensity of the car accident, you know, there could be glass shards and bits and pieces of the wreckage that might've created, you know, superficial holes or scratches in the body. He's not gonna play up. He knows he's going tomorrow to the club. I've known Kori for nearly two years. Kori was a real hard-case, loving person. When you first seem him, you will think, 'Oh, bit intimidated. He looks like a mobster.' But when you get to know him, he's amazing. He's funny, right out there. * Today I'm assisting Fiona with the funeral service for Mr Karena. Is it a Harley, dear? Yeah. Oh. Neat, eh? When I see his bike today outside the house, I see Kori and that cheeky smile. Four would be good here, and then you can six down there, eh? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. We are going to take Kori's body to the Glenora Bears Rugby League Club, and there they will have a community service for a few hours. We're just gonna close up now, eh? Do we have his facecloth here? Do you know where his facecloth has gone, bub? Kori's body's lookin' amazing ` very handsome. C'mon. Over here now, nice and slow. (WOMEN VOCALISE) Haere mai, te hui, te whenua o te whanau e! The kaikaranga is incredibly emotional when she's calling Kori into the clubroom. Haere mai! Mr Karena's death was a car crash; it was a sudden death, and so there is absolute shock around the club... and around any friends and family, who've travelled near and far. (MEN PERFORM HAKA) # Ana! Ana! (HISSING) # Ana! # Aue, hi! # All Kori's tributes here at the rugby-league club will be amazing. Um, but I'm his little sister, who used to try and boss him around. I just wanna tell him that I love him... and thank him for always putting me high up on that little pedestal. MAN: Kori was many things. He was the shoulder to cry on when you're havin' a bad day. (SNIFFLES) He was the mechanic that would help you sort your car out if your car was playin' up but, above all, a kind,... loving, caring family man... with a huge heart. MAN: He was the rock of the whole family. That's why God gave him such big shoulders ` to carry all of us. (SOMBRE MUSIC) FRANCIS: Kori will be at the clubrooms all day for friends and whanau to go through and pay their respects. He'll spend one more night at home, and then we'll have his final service, cremation the next day. (LIGHT THEME MUSIC RIFF) (LIGHT, CHEERFUL MUSIC) SOFTLY: C'mon, my darling ` wa moe. Oh, can you move those off his bed, please? (SIGHS) Wow. My office has taken a turn for the worst. Yes, you've got whole room in... your moenga. Eh, my son. (KISSES) Their office at the moment looks like a baby daycare. - (PHONE LINE RINGS) - (BLOWS) Francis bought most of the equipment for Baby upstairs. Kai would just like simple things, but he just goes overboard. There are so many dummies around here. Where? We got more here; just pulled one off my keyboard. Oh. OK. (BABY FRANCIS CRIES) Baby Francis eats like his father, though ` like, cries all the time and wants to eat. That's like Big Francis when he has tantrums. He needs to eat straight away. OK, I need tissues ready. Tissues? Yup. Wet wipes, cos it's gonna be a mess. It's a major performance for Francis to feed Baby Francis. Here we go. (GASPS) Mmmmm. (CLICKS TONGUE) Oh my goodness. (GASPS) Good boy. (CHUCKLES) This is tidier than I thought. I haven't had a lot of experience with feeding the baby. I enjoy it when he eats it, but sometimes I'm not sure if I got the right knack. Oh wow. He makes me hungry, the way he eats. Oops. Ooh, ooh, ooh. (CLICKS TONGUE) Tissue. Oh. Darling? You OK? Uh, it's OK. It's just his hands keep going to his mouth. Do you want me to feed him? (GRIZZLES) (SIGHS) Is that OK? SOFTLY: K. OK. Ooh, ooh, ooh. What happened? Look` It's just a bit slow, eh, my son? Yeah. His hands keep going to his face. C'mon. Come on. All right, Mum? Yup. You want tissues? Nope. He's drama. He's very drama, and it's just like, 'All you're doing is getting the spoon, and put it in the baby's mouth, and that's it.' Reka? Ohhh. Ooh. Awww. Good boy. Ooh, ooh. LAUGHS: It's very challenging for him. So I just wanna take it away from him and do it myself. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) (AMUSING MUSIC) (LIGHT THEME MUSIC RIFF) (SOLEMN STRINGS MUSIC) Today I'm at the Henderson branch for a prearrangement. How old are you at the moment? MAN: 44. 44. Place of birth ` where you born in Auckland? Yup. Yeah. Greenlane. A prearrangement is when a family or a person comes in to the funeral home to prearrange their funeral before they die. Well, um,... a month ago I got told that I had seven months left to live, cos I've got advanced melanoma through my body. And I just thought I'll prepare my own funeral... to get it the way I'd like it to be. Mm-hm. So I've come... That's why you're here today, eh ` to korero. That's why I'm here today ` to talk to you. Planning your own funeral's absolutely brave. You know, people must have to dig deep and find that absolute strength, especially when you're staring death in the eye. I'm just tryin' to be as happy as I can and... Beautiful. ...take every day as it comes. Every sunny day is a good day to go out,... True. ...get out of the four walls. True. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) Very true. Yeah. Surprisingly, Mario is very... (SOLEMN STRINGS MUSIC CONTINUES) It's like normal. It's normal. It's happening. He's dealing with it. Wow. And children ` tamariki? Two children, yeah. Yeah, we have two. How old are they? 13 and 17. 13 and 17. Both girls. Yeah. Both daughters, eh. Yeah. Yup. I even went to prepare for their 21sts. I bought them some 21st-key necklaces and some hearts for when they get married. Aw, Mario, that's beautiful. And I'm gonna engrave it on the back, 'Love, Dad.' Mm. So when they get married, they've got something to remember me by. Yup. This is just so special,... and I'm glad that I'm here today, because every time you sit with a family, you learn something new, and you put that into your own kete, sit back and reflect on your life and go, 'Man, here I am moaning about this and this and this when, in fact, 'you get this hero like Mario sitting with you, arranging everything.' It's beautiful. Come through. I take Mario through the funeral home, and I show him the dressing room. He wants to know what's where and what the process and procedures are, so I've gotta, yeah, tell him... and talk to him like he's here, cos he is. You know, you won't need lipstick or blusher or like that. No. (CHUCKLES GENTLY) We'll just keep him all-natural. Just do your eyebrow. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Oh, listen to her! Listen to her. (CHUCKLES) (LAUGHS) - (SIGHS) - (CHUCKLES) Just do you eyebrows, eh, Mario. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, just fix my eyebrows. (CHUCKLES GENTLY) Mario's a mechanic, and so while we're at the back there, I take him through to show him our white Buick, Tangi. Yes, nah, she's really beautiful,... (WINDOW CREAKS) ...and I'm just looking at a black one too. Love the old cars, but that's the` I've gotta ask my wife, but... That's all right. Yeah, so this is another... I've got a couple of Cadillacs as well, but, you know, all the mechanics, they love the old cars, so... Yeah. They're beautiful. Yeah? Yup. That's all good. Neat. (WINDOW SHUTS) So, we'll go back to the front. Sorry, I just wanted to sidetrack you and show you the Buick. (CHUCKLES, SIGHS) So, now that we've had a good discussion and had a look and walk through the funeral home, we've made the arrangements, it's just time for Mario to go and be with his family and live out the rest of his life, until his wife, Kim, calls me with the news that he's passed away. (ENGINE RUMBLES) PHONE: Motorcycling puts a little adventure in every day. It gets under your skin. The more in tune you become to the subtleties and the physics and the geometry of riding a motorcycle, the more it actually gives back. (ENGINE RUMBLES IN BURSTS) The more you understand it, the more rewarding it is. * Today is Kori's final day with his family. He will be taken to Manukau Memorial Gardens to be privately cremated. (WARM MUSIC) FIONA: So the last goodbye is going to be special. There's only a selected number of people who are going to follow through to the cemetery, so there's a lotta activity goin' on at home ` a lotta people there to farewell him in their own way. (ENGINE REVS) (ENGINE RUMBLES, REVS) (ENGINES RUMBLE) Kori was so loved in his whanau... and in the community, and by the turnout, it is very evident. And so through the sadness, there is a proud moment that the whanau should hold deep in their hearts. WOMAN: MAN: (WOMAN WAILS) I think this funeral service as a whole has been all about Kori, and I think Kori would've loved it. (LIGHT THEME MUSIC RIFF) (LIGHT, CURIOUS MUSIC) The Buick is a touchy subject at the moment. (KISSES) She just looks good, and... that's about it. It... (SIGHS) It just kept breaking down. It needs to be towed away. The Buick that has never worked was a waste of time, money, effort. Oh. Is it not starting for you? No. At all? Oh, terrible. OK. (CHUCKLES GENTLY) I'm sorry. Well, there we go. That's... Reason why we called. I love it that Kaiora's towed away that Buick, and hopefully it never comes back again. Ever since its last two-and-a-half funerals, it's just been sitting here. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) It's a joyous occasion, and I'm loving every bit of it. What a beautiful feeling. I'm choosing not to watch that. I just think we'll let` I just give responsibility over to my wife. I think I've caused enough problems. (LIGHT THEME MUSIC RIFF) (SOLEMN PIANO MUSIC) Mario has lived a little bit longer than expected, but we have got the call from Kim ` Mario has passed away. Mario has spent two nights at his home, and today I'm coming to uplift him for his funeral service. MAN: Not sure, bro, but let's hang on till it's closed here. OK, mate, we're gonna close your lid now. Come on that side, bubba. Kim and her family knew this day was coming, but it does not make it any easier. Farewell, mate. Moemoe. Beautiful. Down we go. (SOMBRE STRINGS MUSIC) The closing of the lid for the final time is the hardest time, you know. It is the last time you'll physically see the person you love in the casket, and so the lid's going on, and that's very hard. Thank you, gentlemen. Beautiful. OK. I wish that I could've taken Mario on the black Buick for his funeral day, but Tangi was there,... the white Buick, and it was meant to be, cos there was motorbike there to escort us, so there we go. (POIGNANT PIANO MUSIC) (GENTLE CHATTER) K. MAN: You ready? Mario's two daughters don't want to speak, but they've written a beautiful tribute to their dad. WOMAN READS: 'Now in our sadness, we feel drowned. 'We wish you had the choice to stay. 'To all the people that've come here today for our dad ` 'a caring friend, father and husband... 'that has sadly passed away ` 'we'd like to ask you one thing ` 'be happy and remember that our dad was a blessing.' (PLAYS GUITAR) THEY HARMONISE: # Tangi a # te ruru kei te... Mario's wife, Kim, has asked me to sing a song at his funeral service, so myself and few other whanau will sing it for him. # ...i te putahitanga. (SINGERS VOCALISE) I think Mario would've loved the funeral that he arranged. I think at the turnout and how it's rolled out in terms of music and the people that wanted to pay tribute, he would be overwhelmed. The number of people that wanted to share their stories, we had to stop it, because we just didn't have enough time, and so I guess that's a testament to the kind of man Mario was. # Tu tangata # tonu. # (LIGHT THEME MUSIC RIFF) WOMAN: Oh. Hello! BABYISHLY: Hi, baby. (CHUCKLES GENTLY) (COOS) Yeah, he's dribbling a lot. He's gonna get teething. You must be getting your teeth. He's gonna get a tooth. When Baby goes to daycare,... I will be sad, but I'm happy for him, cos, you know, at least he'll be around children, and, you know, he can interact and not be carried around by his father and be suffocated in his chest all day. Yeah. Has he had lunch? Mum? KAIORA: Yeah, he's had something to eat. Are you hungry again? (CHUCKLES) You know, when we're busy with tangihanga, we say to ourselves, 'Oh, we can't wait till he goes to daycare.' But actually, we can. We're gonna miss him. We're gonna miss him a lot. (PLAYS UKULELE) (CHUCKLES GENTLY) # ...e nga iwi. BOTH: # Kia tapatahi, # kia kotahi ra ` # tatou, tatou e. (CHUCKLES) So funny ` every time I have a baby, actually, I always say, 'Oh, no, that's the last one.' But then even, like, a month after, you go, 'Oh, I'm pretty sure I can have another.' # ...e. # Kia mau. # Hi aue hi. # Awww, pakipaki! Pakipaki. (CHUCKLES GENTLY) Pakipaki. This is our last baby. Did my wife say that? www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2020