When I was a kid, maybe
about 11 years old, my parents took me to a place in New York City’s
West Greenwich Village called The White Horse Tavern.
“The Horse” (as locals called
the place) was always filled with writers. It offered liberal libations
and served up wonderful hamburgers wedged between slices of toasted bread.
Located just a few blocks south of the meatpacking
district on Gansevoort Street, The Horse had easy access to fresh round
steak, which the cook faithfully chopped up and served to order, so the
burgers there were superb.
It was during this time that the poet Dylan
Thomas and his wife lived in the neighborhood.
It was not unusual to see Norman Mailer,
Hunter Thompson, and later the rock musician Jim Morrison, amongst other
artists that frequented the joint.
Nearing the end of his life, Thomas spent
many hours eclipsing the sun and moon inside The Horse, drinking and schmoozing
with the locals, seated at the second barstool from the door.
I remember when Thomas died, The Horse put
a big, empty glass bottle on the bar and everybody threw in whatever they
could for his widow.
Later Sabiha and I lived in an apartment
just a block away, and we could often be found in The Horse eating hamburgers
while watching Monday Night Football on a tiny, 20-inch color TV. An ancient
grandfather clock on the wall marked time for us all, as the world sailed
by on Hudson Street.
We founded Air Cargo News in March
1975, operating from our little apartment a block away from The Horse,
above a laundromat on the second floor of a building at Bleecker &
Perry Street.
Our first two children were born in nearby
St. Vincent’s Hospital—now long gone—as our brood and
hamburger orders grew from two to eventually six total. We even opened
a charge account at The Horse, but alas left the neighborhood to live
in Queens, close to LaGuardia and JFK Airports, where we have remained
ever since.
Sometimes we would see Julie Kupersmit,
the great pioneering air cargo container guy who founded “Containair,”
which manufactured containers in Springfield Gardens just off the main
runways at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Julie lived on West 11 Street during that
time.
The White Horse has always been a great
neighborhood joint and I imagine it remains so to this day; Dylan Thomas
has taken on superstar status, as his likeness banners the walls and a
small room off to one side is dedicated in his honor.
It’s worth a trip anytime and filled
with great memories. Inside, The White Horse Tavern still looks and feels
like the old neighborhood, although tourists have now begun to fill the
place. The neighborhood’s changes are most felt outdoors during
the summer, when the streets are flooded with out-of-town gawkers at sidewalk
cafés.
We hope to be there in March 2015, with
thanks and a tip of our hat to everyone for the inspiration, sanctuary,
and occasional mercy, and special thanks to The Horse for that time 40
years ago in 1975, when we began Air Cargo News just around the
corner.
Geoffrey |
