Posted: May 18, 2009, 3 a.m. EDT
Martin Humphreys races his cat Midge in their town of Wrose, England. He hopes to sell a film idea about his sprinting cat. Photo courtesy BBC News. |
Sometimes cat stories just call out to you; this is one of them, which I came across the other day on the BBC News website.
It’s the story of a speedy one-eye
tortoiseshell cat named Midge and her owner, Martin Humphreys, who live in West Yorkshire, England. (Humphreys rescued Midge from a shelter when she was a kitten; she's now 12.)
Humphreys, a perfectly normal-looking man, decided to race his cat one day after he returned from shopping. “I tried to overtake her and I swear to you this most astonishing thing happened because … I could see she accelerated and she wouldn’t let me beat her,” Humphreys said in an interview.
It turns out this racing thing got to be a habit for the two of them. Humphreys was so impressed with Midge’s skills that he shot a film of the two of them sprinting against each other, called it “The Great Race,” and has flown off to the Cannes Film Festival to present the film and try to sell it to movie bosses.
“A full-length feature film (about Midge) I truly believe could become one of the greatest children’s movies of all time,” Humphreys said.
The video clip is hilarious: pseudo- “Chariots of Fire” music plays in the background as Humphreys, decked out in white sweatband, races Midge down the street. Now, I’m not one to judge, but Humphreys doesn’t appear to be packing the speed of Usain Bolt here. Midge beats him handily.
I wish Humphreys the best of luck with his film idea. It takes pluck to make it in the film business — and being quick on your feet never hurt either. Good luck Midge!