Close Encounters

I am lucky if I get around to publishing a post once a week, so it is no surprise that this will be first time that I post twice in the same day. Right after publishing the my previous post, I ran over to Blinco's for a bite of dinner and a couple of tasty beverages. I grabbed a seat at the bar and did not pay any attention to the group of guys around the corner of the bar. That is until one of them started talking, and then it was hard not to notice them. The voice is one of the most recognizable in this area if not the whole state of North Carolina. The voice belonged to Chuck Kaiton who is the radio announcer for the Carolina Hurricanes. Below is a YouTube clip of Kaiton's call during the final moments of game seven of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.



It turns out that Kaiton is a friend of Jim Blinco who is one of the owners of the bar. One of Kaiton's pals called Blinco. He lives in Holly Springs which was one of the local towns that were the hardest hit by the tornadoes and thunderstorms that ripped through Raleigh and the surrounding area yesterday. In the voicemail that he left, Kaiton's friend said something about the tornadoes being over and Blinco should not be a Toto and to come on over to the bar. One of the bartenders thought it was a bit soon for Wizard of Oz references and told the guy so. I piped up and told the guy I thought his comment was funny. I also do not think preaching to your customers is the best way for a bartender to get a good tip.