[MidOHasp]

The common theme sure looks like "don't change it" but with the addendum that the charity aspect of the fling should be secondary at best.

I still think that the charity, if there is one, no matter what it is, will do twice as well as a second priority than it would as a top priority.

I don't think anyone is turned off to the idea of the fling. I think people love the fling. What I think many are growing weary of is the Double Venom Spring Fling that is "all about the children and the cookies and CF".

I'm sorry for being so damned blunt, but I know for a fact that I'm not the only person feeling this way. I'm just one of the few who isn't padding my words with accolades for Ed and past flings.

Ed already knows how I feel about his hard work and the fun we've all had in the past. That won't change. It's been said. This isn't the "Thank Ed" thread. Sorry. There are several of those, and they have their place. I know I've paid my dues in those threads, as have countless others.

I'm just cutting to the chase, people. The people I know that are the most passionate about this event SEEM to have one thing in common - they want the focus to go back to our Cobra family.

If someone benefits from it, let's make sure it's a good charity or a good cause, as it has been. That will come naturally, as I stated before. But let's not spend the next 8 months planning the thing to death.

I, for one, am with Rick - some kind of organized wheel time would be fantastic. Others, Pat Buckley being one of them based on a post I read here, couldn't care less about that stuff, and would be thrilled with sitting out in a parking lot with great friends. I'll bet by the end of the weekend, we will all 3 have been standing around in the same circle over a beer, you know?

How about I just throw some tangibles out there, and if they sound good to you, step up and say "I second that idea!" If they sound terrible, step up and say "JP, you're out of your mind!"

1) You can't please everyone with everything all the time. Don't make that a focus. Set a date and location, plan some things if you want, but don't make them the focus of the fling. Let people entertain themselves.

2) Don't make the fling about one person or one charity. Let the chips fall where they may. They will fall somewhere. It's the nature of our crowd.

3) Provide participants with lists of restaurants, attractions, entertainment, etc... options. If a group of 40 wants to all go to one place together, they can. If someone wants to pack their own lunch and eat by themselves under a shade tree, they feel comfortable with that. When a group of dozens of rumbling cobras shows up somewhere, space is miraculously generated. I don't want to know in 2004 where I am eating dinner halfway through 2005.

4) Don't waste time with registration fees and their beneficiaries (bands, etc...) unless it is necessary for things like taking over London, drag racing down Main Street, etc... If people want to go to Handke's or M for dinner, they can, and they won't have spent $100 to not have meal choices all weekend. If they want to nuke a burrito at the 7/11 station for dinner, then they have that option, too. See #3 above.

5) Allow the general population to decide if they want one central event/venue one night. If by the first of the year, that seems to be a consensus, then plan a night under a tent or at a park. If not, let people make their own plans and entertain themselves. I personally am not opposed to that idea, but then again, the hotel parking lots are quite the venue for socializing, aren't they?

6) To reiterate, let US focus on US. I'm probably missing some things, and we may not be able to do some of the fun things we do without being part of a grand group called the Double Venom Spring Fling. If so, speak now, and I will concede those points. Otherwise, I don't see the need for the cause.

Speak up, people. If you want to see the Fling take a step back from the hype and a step back toward its original intent - a gathering for our huge family - then speak up. Now is your chance. A few of us have opened the door, here, and I'm hoping not at anyone's expense.

But this is your chance to sneak a taste of the soup and throw your secret blend of spices in. Nobody's going to stop you.