Middie came to us in another very unique way.  Several years ago, the state we live in legalized slot machine gambling, but there was a stipulation to that: Slot casinos were only permitted where there was an existing harness-racing track in operation.  Our home town has a track and therefore, soon was hosting a slot casino.  As the track is also host to the State Fairgrounds, which, in turn, hosts many fairs and carnivals, the casino was (aptly) named "Midway Slots".  So, my husband and I enjoyed quite a few visits to the casino to enjoy the "free" (ha-ha) buffets that were offered.

There was a small black and white kitten in the parking lot who was soooo very shy, but seemed to be hesitantly trying to make friends.  I called to her as we were going inside, but she hid from me, frightened, behind a car.  When we finished and were returning to our vehicle, I spotted her again. I called to her and she came up to me, then ran back a few paces, then came back up to me, I suppose sensing that I was not going to do her any harm.  I had the door to our pick-up truck open and, to my amazement, she jumped right in!  My husband, of course, was still lecturing me about how we did not need any more cats at home, but Middie, again sensing just what to do, went right over to my husband's side and purrred at him and gave him a look very similar to the picture here of her in a corner cabinet I recently purchased.  She gave him that "poor me" cat-look and he was a goner!  So, she came home with us in the pickup and rubbed and purred at my husband the whole way, probably just to make sure he didn't change his mind!  We arrived home and she just moved right in, getting along with all the other cats.  The dogs were a different story, though, and that took some time, but she has adapted.  We had her spayed right away and she is one of the only cats that has pretty much run of the house, as she is very trustworthy and careful! Obviously, when the time came to name her, there was the obvious choice.....the Midway where she came from!

My husband has a friend who is a blacksmith/farrier and is very familiar with the fairgrounds as he had a shop there at one time.  The first thing he said was "Oh, she's a barn cat!".  Well, this may be true, but a better behaved and loveable barn cat there never was! And, how many "barn cats" sense things as well as she, including when you are looking for her to pose for a picture?  Barn cat?  I think not!