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Five times a Miami street vendor saved your life

By Connie Ogle
Sometimes you hit the trifecta: water, exotic fruit and churros, but only when the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars.
Sometimes you hit the trifecta: water, exotic fruit and churros, but only when the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars.

We’ve all been there: Running late and in desperate need of [fill in the blank]. Of course we’ve all been there. We live on Miami time, and we’re always running late. Plus we’re usually stuck in traffic.

But here we are, late for [something], and we need [our thing]. Who will save us? Not CVS or Walgreens. Not Navarro. There’s no time to stop, park and wait in an endless line while some fool pulls out 50 coupons.

No, our savior is always the Miami street vendor, who heroically produces what we crave without the benefit of a food truck or even a cart. Sometimes it’s just a bucket and a smile.

Here are just a few of the vital products these Miami heroes provide:

Affordable flowers

--Laura Figueroa/Miami Herald Staff--Alicia Lopez, a street vendor in Hialeah works Wednesday afternoon selling flowers along the highly congested West 49th Street. Lopez said Monday afternoon's shooting of a lunch cart vendor in East Hialeah has left most vendors a little rattled.
--Laura Figueroa/Miami Herald Staff--Alicia Lopez, a street vendor in Hialeah works Wednesday afternoon selling flowers along the highly congested West 49th Street. Lopez said Monday afternoon's shooting of a lunch cart vendor in East Hialeah has left most vendors a little rattled. Laura Figueroa/Miami Herald Staf Laura Figueroa/Miami Herald Staf

Mother’s Day is coming up, but even if you have it on your Google calendar it doesn’t matter. You’re going to forget to buy flowers for your mama/wife/partner/girlfriend/baby mama. And then on the way to brunch on Sunday it’ll hit you. Who comes to your rescue? The woman at the intersection with a big bucket of cheap roses and sunflowers that may or may not be doomed to wilt in 24 hours.

Water

Face it, you're parched. Buy some cool water to make the next half hour of your commute less painful.
Face it, you're parched. Buy some cool water to make the next half hour of your commute less painful. TIM CHAPMAN TIM CHAPMAN

You’re as hot as the pavement at high noon in Kendall. You’d sell your soul to Derek Jeter for water. Suddenly, a hero arises at the stoplight.

Exotic fruits

Want Spanish limes? Don't worry. Someone is going to try to sell you some at a traffic light.
Want Spanish limes? Don't worry. Someone is going to try to sell you some at a traffic light. DANIEL BOCK FOR THE MIAMI HERALD

You know how it is. You’re driving home from work and suddenly you recall that you have a desperate need for mamoncillos. This is NOT A PROBLEM! This happens to us all. And someone in Miami is standing on a street corner selling bags of them.

Read More: Ever heard of níspero or mamey? Meet the weird, exotic fruits of Miami

Churros

Anybody who brings churros to your car is a hero.
Anybody who brings churros to your car is a hero. Jared Lazarus Herald Staff

There may be other cities in which you can purchase slightly stale churros on the side of the road without leaving your car. But we believe Hialeah is the epicenter of this phenomenon. And we are grateful for it.

Road shrimp

Maybe it's fresh. Maybe it's not. But the price is right.
Maybe it's fresh. Maybe it's not. But the price is right.

Are you willing to gamble with your intestinal tract? Good. Grab a bag to go and hope for the best.

This story was originally published May 6, 2018 at 11:05 PM.

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