The Turnip
New Dundas, PEI
January 30, 2011
When the phone rang on Friday morning, New Dundas resident, Angus Kaldi, had a good feeling.
"I just knew this would be my year," beamed Kaldi, a 72-year-old retired electrician.
Indeed. The fateful call came from Sophie Noisette, commissioner of the Coffee Hall of Fame, who congratulated Kaldi on his induction into the venerable "shrine of Java", ending years of controversy.
"We recognize Mr. Kaldi's wonderful career. With 53,000+ career double-doubles and 2,400 playoff cups of black, there is no question that he deserves this honour. Combine that with recent experimentation with boutique world blends, and we are pleased to move forward," said Noisette, making a oblique reference to an incident in 2003.
In January of that year, Kaldi ended his streak of 991 consecutive morning cups of joe, just 14 shy of the all-time record. Stuck in a drive-thru line for more than 4 hours, his truck ran out of gas, and he refused to enter the shop. "No one ever mentions it was -37 C windchill," bristled Kaldi. "It was a damned cold day! But all that is in the past now."
Kaldi hopes to attend the induction ceremony, held in Montreal in April. He awaits the advice of his doctors, who have expressed concern that his resting heart-rate is 125 bpm.
[Photo credit: iStockPhoto]
