Gussifunn is going to need a publicist

Look at ole Gussifunn...getting ink all on his own!
Here is an interview from Portico Magazine in B'ham!

http://www.porticomag.com/10things.html

10 Things I've Learned As A Florist
BY GUS PAPPAS OF NORTON?S FLORIST
AS TOLD TO TODD KEITH

1. Valentine?s Day is our busiest day of the year?by far. We?ll deliver 10 times the normal amount and use more than 40 vans to do so.

2. Norton?s Florist is an important part of our community. We support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation by having Foundation volunteers help us on Valentine?s Day, and we in turn make donations to the Foundation for every hour they work and for every delivery they make. Valentine?s is a woman?s day. It?s nice to try and help make a difference.

3. Most of our flowers come from Ecuador and Columbia with certain varieties from California and Europe. Those from South America are grown on the equator where there is always 12 hours of sunlight, rich soils, and good climate. Roses grown at higher altitudes receive more ultraviolet light and consequently have more vivid colors.

4. Guys wait until the absolute last minute to order for Valentine?s and special occasions. They say, ?One dozen roses, please,? and want to get off the phone. Some advice: Have your roses delivered before Valentine?s Day to avoid the rush. Women at work want their roses early enough in the day so that everyone in the office can admire them.

5. Over 75 percent of florists have four employees or less. Because of our size and volume, we can get flowers trucked to Birmingham in a special refrigerated flower trailer that keeps them at 34 to 36 degrees. It?s a real advantage getting quality choices to the customer.

6. Studies show that the gift of flowers?compared to giving chocolates, jewelry, or other gifts?is in its own separate category in terms of provoking positive reactions in people. Flowers make you smile and feel good.

7. Sometimes even the gift of flowers can?t help you. One customer wanted our delivery guy to carry a cell phone as he handed the flowers to the customer?s girlfriend, so he could hear her reaction. ?That #@*%!!!? she hollered, ?I haven?t seen him in three weeks, and he thinks this is going to do it??

8. You see some interesting things. One girl, an exotic dancer, needed a floral arrangement of little roses for her boa constrictor to wear. The boa was around the lady?s neck. In a wedding.

9. A few years back, a gypsy passed away and his friends asked us to create something special?and very specific?for his funeral spray. He apparently loved bologna sandwiches, so we designed a sympathy spray in the shape of a bologna sandwich, all the way with lettuce and tomato. Sometimes, as a florist, you have to go above and beyond.

10. It really is a cool business. It?s not like we?re selling water pumps or making shrimp po? boys. The gratification you get from pleasing people is so great; it just doesn?t compare to other jobs.

Norton?s Florist began in 1921 and is the largest florist in Alabama. It is owned and operated by the Pappas family and has four Birmingham locations, including a new main office and showroom at 401 22nd Street South. www.nortonsflorist.com