Pére Lachaise
Cimetiére du Pére Lachaise
 Have you
ever felt like you were walking into a dream, another dimension
available only to you? The overwhelming sense of destiny was
unmistakable as I stood gazing at the enormous stone wall that
surrounds Pére Lachaise. After visiting the land of the Greek Gods
how very appropriate that I was about to enter the place where our
very own modern Greek God was laid to rest. Jim Morrison was the
quintessential Greek God. His very presence emanated strength &
power and his classic chiseled features would rival any of our
modern day sexiest men alive.
There is something uniquely special, almost spiritual about Pére
Lachaise. Something apparently even Jim Morrison could not deny. In
the months before he left this earth he visited Pére Lachaise
several times and was very clear in his wish to be buried there
someday. He too, must have sensed the peace that engulfs everyone
who strolls along its paths. There's no mistaking the serenity
that overtakes a person as they navigate the winding maze of stone
walkways. Getting lost in Pére Lachaise is entirely too easy to do
but I can think of no better place on earth to do just that. I think
I would be content to wander aimlessly in its serenity for days.
 Pére
Lachaise is by far one of the most famous cemeteries in the world
and definitely one of the most visited cemeteries in the world,
attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The name of
the cemetery comes from Pére (Father) Francois de la Chaise (1624 -
1709). The cemetery itself however, was established by Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte.
When Pére Lachaise first opened local residents considered it too
far from the heart of Paris and therefore it attracted very few
funerals. So with a very well planned marketing strategy in hand,
the administrators organized the transfer of the remains of La
Fontaine and Moliére, in 1804. Then a few years later the remains
of Pierre Abélard and Héloïse were also brought there. The
strategy had the desired effect when people began clamoring to be
buried with the famous residents. Today those residents share these
grounds with the likes of: Oscar Wilde, Frédéric Chopin, Victor
Noir, Yves Montand, Édith Piaf, James Rothschild, Honoré de Balzac
and Sarah Bernhardt just to name a few. Current estimates reveal
that anywhere from 70,000 to 300,000 souls are buried at Pére
Lachaise. 
It's this writer's opinion however that it was the
interment of our very own Jim Morrison that made this cemetery world
renowned. It's impossible to walk the grounds of this most
humbling symbol of our mortality without finding evidence of Jim
everywhere. The faithful, or the followers, however you choose to
think of them, leave their impressions everywhere. Graffiti is
definitely the word of the day. But who needs graffiti when all you
really need do is follow the wafting scent of marijuana. The
unmistakable smell of ganja beckons us to Jims final resting place
as the faithful light up in tribute to our very own, Mr. Mojo Risin.
But it's the magnificent monuments of the other famous
residents that I find so curious. They shadow the grave of our poet
begging to be seen yet it's the very simple unassuming grave of
Jim Morrison that definitely attracts the bulk of the visitors. Even
in death, it seems Jim Morrison managed to get the last laugh. And I
for one can't help but smile at the irony of it all. It was after
all our very own Greek God who said: "I am the lizard king, I can
do anything."
And so can I. I can do anything. See The Originals.
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