Jim Dykes, NYC Celebrity Tourguide writes about Opera Superstar MARIA CALLAS- Diva Supreme-- raised in Manhattan's Washington Heights Neighborhood!

From my dear friend Peggy- Peggy was reminiscing with another friend and longtime Harlem resident Raymond Lewis about Sylvia Woods, owner of SYLVIA’S of Harlem, who died this week. Peggy: In addition to mourning, I will also be quietly chuckling as I remember hilarious stories about "The Queen of Soul Food," which left me in stitches. I told Raymond about the time Sylvia told me that she used to open the restaurant an hour before the posted time in order to feed the local drug pushers, so that they would leave her customers alone. ("I've paid my dues,” she said.) Then there was the time a desperate young mother came into the restaurant with four emaciated children and Sylvia fed them for free and then sat down with them and prayed. I recalled how locals used to come in, weighed down with black plastic bags of “hot” goods, and try and sell them, not only at the entrance, but also in the dining rooms. No night went by when you weren't accosted by a vendor whispering “Got some good stuff tonight,” trying to unload everything from jewelry to household goods. One day a vendor came into SYLVIA’S and tried to sell patrons a green casket. “A green casket?” Raymond asked the guy. “Yeah, a green casket, like what you bury folks in.” “Where is it?” “Outside, in front of the restaurant.” “How much do you want for it?” “$400” “Nah…too much.” “Where did you get it?” “The funeral parlor around the corner.” “Anybody in it?” “No…it’s empty.” “No thanks. I’ll catch you next time, when you’ve got a wider range of colors.” Not believing him, Raymond went outside. There, right in front of SYLVIA’S, by the curb, lay a dark green coffin. So tomorrow, when the tears are flowing and we’re all choking as the choir sings “Amazing Grace”, I will also smile as I remember the coffin by the curb.