The man who gives the flowers power

By Sam Frank

Class: we at A&E have it in spades. For us, only the finest food, most genteel society, and elephant dung of the subtlest bouquet will do. But we ramble. We are discussing class here, and nothing bespeaks class like beautiful flowers and refined music. With that, A&E presents an interview with John Lynch, sole proprietor of the flower stand on the corner of York and Elm Streets, and the classiest man in town.

SHAWN CHENG/YH

The Yale Herald: How long have you been in New Haven?

John Lynch: On and off for about 10 years. I've been selling flowers for about three and a half years. I'm here as long as Yale is here. But in the winter I have to scale back. I have to fit everything in here with the propane heater. Otherwise, the flowers would freeze, and so would I.

YH: Has the boom box been here as long as you have?

JL: In various permutations. After a certain number of miles I have to get another one.

YH: What's been in rotation today?

JL: I played a little Baroque in the morning. It helps clear my thoughts. Then I kind of drifted into the Romantics. I played a little free jazz too, this afternoon. Generally, it's pretty much jazz and classical, with some international thrown in.

YH: Who are your favorite artists?

JL: That's a tough question. It depends on the mood I'm in. The obvious ones: I like the classical masters. You can't go wrong with Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. As far as jazz, mostly the late '50s: Jackie McLean, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Clark.

YH: What's the best reaction you have ever gotten to your music?

JL: It inspired one guy to propose marriage while I was selling him a rose for his girlfriend. She accepted, and I told him to come back on their anniversary, and it'd be on me. I haven't seen him since then. Maybe they were just passing through.

YH: Maybe they just go around and play pranks on people selling flowers.

JL: Yeah, to get free roses. YH: Do cops ever bother you and make you turn your music down?

JL: No, as a matter of fact a couple of them tell me to turn it up. I don't know if you know Merle. He's a Yale cop, and whenever I play Lee Morgan he says, "Hey! Turn that up!"

YH: Have they given you any hassle over Broadway redevelopment? Have they said, "Gotta get out of here?"

JL: They haven't given me any trouble. I guess I'm a step up from the panhandlers.

YH: And a step up from Broadway Pizza?

JL: Nothing against Broadway Pizza. No, all of these establishments serve a role. It's sort of a bouquet in itself.

YH: This is a pretty busy corner. See anything odd over your couple years here?

JL: There was a drug bust right in front of me right here. They were chasing a couple of kids in a pickup truck. It was kind of a funny situation.

YH: Were they waving shotguns and pitchforks?

JL: No, no. Actually, most of the crazy things I see out here are related to pledging and hazings and that kind of stuff.

YH: What's the craziest stupid frat thing you've seen?

JL: Look—the competition is pretty stiff. I don't know if I can single anything out in particular.

There was some woman across the street pleading for donations for the Canadian Refugee Fund. That was more imaginative than most of the half-naked kind of stuff.

I do have to hand it to the swimming teams. They wait until the coldest night, and they come out in their swimming attire. That catches the most attention, but for more than one reason I'm sure.

YH: What's your all-time favorite flower-related song?

JL: Hmmm...They sort of meld together in my mind because they're two different kinds of beauty, and they complement each other. Anything beautiful is a flower song.

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