Today/Sunday July 3 is the 40th anniversary of the death of Jim Morrison. He died in Paris; a drug overdose at age 27.I am a bit of a Doors fan. I don't know all their songs but I find the life of Jim Morrison, during the years as the lead singer of the band, to be more than interesting. I suppose after a celebrity passes away, the facts of their lives are exaggerated, and their iconic legend becomes bigger than ever.
Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, James Dean. Their fame is greater now than when they were alive.
Tonight, I read a posting on a website thread about Morrison. The writer said:
Been to his grave site in the Pere Lachaise twice. Once in 1985 and the next year... Both visits were rather memorable... In 85, I sipped wine and ate cucumber sandwiches with some kid's from Britain... So may people from all over the world... One guy playing and singing Door's songs...The next year what I had written on a tomb was gone...the whole area around his site is constantly white washed to remove graffiti.
When I read this I thought, that is just creepy. This guy who posted was sipping wine at the feet of a corpse that was dead for 20 years! He didn't even know Morrison and he's embraced the memory like - well like, a family member! That's sick.
Well, I confess, I too, am fascinated with Jim Morrison. Can I blame it on Steve Taylor and his song "Jim Morrison's Grave"? Like the guy who posted, I've been to Morrison's gravesite in Paris. It was five years ago - and I wasn't alone! And, I traveled four hours to Cleveland in the winter to see a Doors exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was cool being surrounded by their by stage gear, flashing back to 1969 with the concert videos playing on the walls, and seeing Morrison's personal effects - it made this rock star, more real, even in death.
Maybe it's because I was too young in 1969 to know who the Doors were and an exhibit and a gravesite are as close as I can get. "Light My Fire" will probably still be relevant 10 or 20 years from now.
I started this post to criticize the creepy guy who sips wine at a gravesite of a dead guy. And then I realized, I'm no different.
That's the way it usually is...thanks for the transparency
ReplyDeleteReminds me of what Jesus said when talking about judging others, we need to remove the plank in our own eyes before we try to remove the speck in others. The world has no hope outside of Jesus, so they cling to many things. No one is perfect, we all sin. It's what we do when we sin that makes the difference. Do we keep short accounts with God and ask to be forgiven when we sin? Or do we let things stew? The only one who was perfect was Jesus, the apostles sinned, the prophets sinned, pastors sin, evangelists sin, Sunday School teachers sin, and so on. This is why we need to be careful as believers before we "pass judgment." Thank you for your honesty Scott and willingness to be vulnerable. God bless!
ReplyDeletePastor Andrew of ATP