i don't know if this really counts as the craziest thing i've ever done, but it is one of my weirdest experiences:

i was traveling alone in europe and went to the pere lachaise cemetery in paris to see jim morrison's grave.

there was a wild-looking french man named rafael there, too, and he started telling me, in broken english, the history of the grave, and all these random facts about jim morrison. i'm not even really a fan - i went to take a picture for a friend. rafael was wearing three doors shirts, one on top of the other, and had wild curly hair...crazy dude, but nice.

anyway so he told me he had a "jim morrison museum" and asked if i'd like to see it. at this point i'd been traveling for a month, had had my heart broken, and was exhausted. i was basically crazy and up for anything. so i said sure, and i followed this whacko out of the cemetery and up a rickety staircase of an apartment building nearby - i thought he might kill me there or something.

he brings me into this apartment that is this absolute shrine to jim morrison. pictures of jim EVERYWHERE, one is even covering the television set with "R.I.P. Jim" written on it. christmas lights were strung all over. then rafael puts in a cassette tape - you'd think it'd be the doors - but it was this crazy french dance music. so i'm eyeing the door the whole time, trying to get outta there, and he's telling me the dates/venues of all the concert photographs...then i tell him i gotta go and he tells me to ask him why he would choose that apartment to be his jim morrison museum. so i asked him, and he said, "because jim died here."

then he launched into this maniacal rant, jumping on the bed, punching the pillows, shouting, "pamela here! jim here!" pointing to the bathtub, shouting "jim die here!"

it was awesome.

when i left he asked for some money and i gave him some euros; he immediately ran across the street to the florist, shouting over his shoulder, "flowers for jim!"

French people

I saw Jim's grave a few weeks ago

I tried finding the guy on google...I've always wondered if anyone else has run into him and been taken to the "museum," or if he just pounced on me.

Was Rafael there?

Guy in his 30s, crazy curly hair, wearing a Doors shirt probably (or 3), trying to keep people from climbing over the partition, trying to maintain the sanctity of the grave, spouting random facts about Jim/his marker?

February 5th, 2000



"I do."

How'd I know that was going to be your answer

I saw Jim's grave a few weeks ago

Hmmm...perhaps! That would be really cool if it were him! Would a picture jog your memory? I took one of him before I left.

Yes, of course. Do it

Sorry about the quality. It was taken on my film camera, so this is a scanned pic. It took me a while to dig it up, too! But while I was searching, it brought back a lot of memories.

Anyway, here's Rafael in all his glory:


[Edited 9/25/05 9:25am]

I went to a org gathering in Sydney.