When I lived in the D.C. suburbs of Arlington I would often run into several prominent figures. Charlotte is a bit different.

It was no surprise for my wife and I to see Janet Reno buying cheese at Whole Foods or for my friend to run into Bernard Shaw at Safeway. I saw Larry King walking down K Street one day while I was getting pizza at Beau Jolie's (best pizza in D.C., BTW).

Then there were the chance encounters with Linda Fiorentino, the staff of the HBO show "K Street" (which was filmed at 1350 I ("Eye") Street, FWIW) such as James Carville, running into into Porter Goss on the Metro and playing Golden Tee with Mary Cheney.

Living in Charlotte you do not have much of the same opportunity to meet famous folks as you do in D.C. But today while at the car was I noticed his huge guy waiting for his car. He looked familiar to me so I asked him, "are you Geoff Handgartner?" He sure was. Carolina Panthers Center.

I met Geoff last year at the Panthers Radio Show but I didn't expect him to remember me. I told him it was great to meet him and welcomed him back from training camp. He laughed and said thanks.

Geoff is no James Carville/Janet Reno/Mary Cheney but he's a nice guy and a pleasure to meet.

Now what is Linda Fiorentino up to?