It was coming up soon; “it”, the last weekend in April, being the final show of the season. We were looking forward with mixed feelings and with fond memories of the fun we had had with Pete and Johnny and with sadness since Pete would retire at the end of the season. (Pete is GC Soesthill Musketeer Pathos and Johnny is GC Soesthill Johnny Cash.)

Last year we had the 26th best cat in our region, which left a bittersweet taste in our mouths; we vowed this wouldn't happen this year. We even subscribed to e-points to keep track of where we were and if we even had a chance at a regional win.

We were the entry clerks and Ray was the master clerk for the Mid South show in Memphis. Ray would be there. We went over several scenarios as to where Anne would go the last weekend if Pete or Johnny were in a close race, like the previous year.

As the show approached, we studied the e-points and, after the next to last weekend, we decided that there was very little if anything we could do to influence the final placement of either boy. We had concentrated on Pete and did not notice that Johnny was in the running for a regional kitten award until he had “aged out” of the kittens. At the beginning of March he was fifteenth in the region, and he was now precariously in last place (20th); all we could do was cross our fingers and hope.

Pete was currently 10th in the region. He should hold on to some placement in the region. Nationally, Pete had a substantial lead in the Breed placement so we decided to just have a fun weekend. We would enter Pete and Johnny at Memphis so we could go to the show together. The adult rings were all double specialty; we did not expect many “campaigners” or many points either. This would be Pete's “Farewell Tour” and Johnny's “Hello Tour.”

We had a good time with the boys; each finaled in four out of six rings—roughly a dead heat between the two and a lot of nice comments from the judges about both of them. The highlight was Johnny's Best Cat.

We were on the way home in the motor home with Anne driving her mile (that's another story) when she noticed an extra light (in Yellow) on the dash with the message to have the engine serviced soon. The engine immediately lost power and we were slowing down. Anne wanted to know what to do and Ray suggested that we get off the Interstate—that engineering education comes in handy sometimes.

We coasted to a stop on an exit ramp and, at midnight, called the AAA. As we waited for the tow truck, we had some unexpected time to reminisce about the year. We had some good times and some not so good but overall it had been a fun year. Now, if the tow truck gets here and is big enough to tow the motor home, if the garage is not too busy, if the confirmation is in mail, if............

After all, next weekend is a whole new year!

Editor's Note: Johnny held on and is the 20th Best Kitten in the MidWest Region and Pete is the 10th Best Cat in the MidWest Region and the Best of Breed Havana Brown in all of CFA.