Cafe in the Crypt

So my friend Lauren found this cool little cafe in the crypt at St. Matins in the Fields church.  We had gone there several weeks ago and had found it to be quite charming.  Well yesterday our Philosophy teacher took us to a lunch time concert in the same church.  It was one of the coolest things I've gotten to do here in London.  The church fills up with people of all sorts who have come to hear the free concert.  It was one of Beethoven's sonatas, played by a violinist and a pianist, and was forty-five minutes of fantasticly soothing music.  There just isn't anything much better than brilliant music, beautiful surroundings, and good people all in the same place.

Well after we had listened to the concert, a few of us decided to check out the cafe in the crypt, maybe grab a spot of tea.  The line was a little too long so we didn't end up eating there, but before we left one of the girls that I was with made an observation about our surroundings.  She said, "It's just kind of sad that they built a restaurant on top of these people's graves."  At the time I just kind of nodded and we moved along, but the more I thought about it the less I agreed with her statement.

I would have to say, that if I were ever buried somewhere, I would be enthralled at the prospect of it one day becoming a restaurant over where I lay.  I think that the departed would feel comfort at the constant warmth brought by the people dining above them.  The kids running around, and the friends drinking tea and sharing in conversation.  What an inviting place to be laid to rest.

Tonight we are going back to the same cafe because on Wednesday nights they have little jazz concerts for the diners.  This fact just cements my opinion even further, that the people buried under this bit of earth have some of the most enviable real estate in the world.  What could be better than to hear laughter, and the sounds of spoons and forks clinking plates, and jazz music fill the air for the rest of eternity?

I know this may be a little bit melancholy to think about, but I just couldn't get her comment out of my head yesterday.  Her feeling sorry for these blessed people now seems to me like the silliest thing in the world.  Historical sites, and graves and such are so important to our heritage, but I believe that each generation needs to make its mark as well.  If that mark takes the form of a cafe built over a crypt, than I see nothing more beautiful and more beneficial to those who remain below.