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Article: The Petal Pushers; For Sidewalk Vendors, Life Is No Bed of Roses
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 13, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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It's 6:30 in the morning and it's raining. Not a hard rain, but
enough of a drab and windy drizzle that it's tough to get out of bed.
At "the strip," the row of wholesale florists that occupy the
Washington Flower Center on Eckington Place NE, the workday has been
underway since 5. Tucked behind the Federal Express building a block
from the traffic of New York Avenue, the strip is the place to be in
these early hours. Nearly 80 employees and customers scramble about -
- it's spring in the District, and there are flowers to be bought and
sold.
Cesar and Rubia Alvarez arrive in their beat-up white van. The
husband-and-wife team is running late today; they had to fix a flat
tire before leaving ...