Once Around the Block

I stood shivering under the arch in Washington Square and waited for a 1957 Chevrolet to come get me.

I was on an assignment on this very cold afternoon and that Chevy, which is as old as I am, was going to take me on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” tour, stopping at various New York locations that appear in the Amazon Prime show about a 1950s housewife who becomes a standup comedian.

I have not watched the show yet, but I’ve certainly heard of it, and I thought the tour would make a good story.

I had, of course, arrived ridiculously early and in effort to stave off pneumonia, I walked over to The Cozy Soup ‘n’ Burger on Broadway to get a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

This place had opened in 1972, when I was a sophomore in high school, and, as I slurped my soup, I looked over their wall of fame, which included signed photos of Sylvester Stallone, Telly Savalas and Lynda Carter.

And then it was back to the park, which had gotten even colder and I started to worry that this ride might not happen.

I had pitched this story to my editor and taken the afternoon off for the tour, so I really didn’t want to come away with nothing but a receipt for a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

But then I saw a young woman in a vintage green dress and a green beret, and I took wild guess that she was my tour guide.

Indeed, she was and after introducing myself where we were ready to depart.

Except this was New York, so naturally at that very moment a homeless man approached my guide, Emily, and asked her about her attire.

He seemed harmless, honestly, it’s just that his timing was bad. He asked Emily if she was from Manchester and told us that he had family there.

The Times They Are A-Changin’

I do, too, and I was all set to mention that fact when I thought it might be best if we parted company.

A few moments later I was in the back seat of this gorgeous old car rolling through the decades and hitting such spots as Caffe Reggio on MacDougal Street and the Music Inn on West Fourth, which opened in 1958 and bills itself as one of New York’s oldest continually run music stores.

We also hit the Up & Up, formerly The Gaslight Café, which is the main venue for Midge Maisel, and which has hosted the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot.

It was like a New York version of Midnight in Paris.

This was a shortened version of the tour, but my head was already spinning.

New York has changed so much over the years, so it was thrilling to visit these treasured sites.

We’re always rushing from one place to another in this town and it’s easy to forget all of this history around us.

I wanted to include some additional commentary for my story, so I contacted Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, and he gave me some fabulous observations.

I realized that I had first interviewed him when I was reporter in the Pocono Record, where I worked from 1988 to 1993, then again when I was working for CNNfn.com in the late 1990s.

“We’ve both been around a long time,” I said, marveling at the passing years.

As the tour came to an end, Emily offered me a black and white cookie, which is featured prominently in the show.

Moments later, I was walking under the arch in Washington Square, back in the 21st Century, with Putin, omicron and QAnon.

Can I take another ride in the Chevy? I'll bring the black and white cookies.