How about some positive and funny stories from the Fling??

klayfish · #1 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 05:18 AM

We've managed to make about 200 posts about the Fling with negative tones and casting a dark cloud on what really was a great time. And that is NOT trying to chastise anyone or criticize, because I put my $.02 in too on the subjects.

But I haven't read too many funny or crazy stories from the Fling. I know there have to be some pretty interesting stories people have to share.

So who's got some positive and great stories to tell? Uh oh, is this a family show? Gotta watch what stories we tell?

I'll start.

First, the most positive thing is we raised $100,000 for Team Jenny!!!! Holy sh!t. That's unbelieveable.

As for my Fling story....I lifted this right from a post I made at FFCobra, so I don't have to type it again...

After Satrudays' show, we were heading back to the hotel complex...at least we thought. It was one of those follow the leader situations. I was following a pack of Cobras, and we must have missed our turn off to get to I-70. We were heading east on Rt. 40, which is sort of like a highway. There were three of us. This 1000hp Cobra, myself, and Gasholes Joe and Pat Kennedy. Eventually, I wound up in front and they were following me. I figured we were lost, so I pulled into the island in the middle of the road. The two others pulled behind me. We looked at a map and figured out that if we just kept going east on Rt. 40, we'd get in the general direction we need to go. We get back in our cars, and nothing from the monster Cobra. Not a thing. It won't crank, cough, nothing...

We tinker with it for a little on the median of the highway and still get nothing. We tried push starting it (and let me tell you a Cobra is normally a light car, but not when it has a 588ci motor with a big blower!!), no luck. We then realize it's probably smartest to get the car on the shoulder of the road, instead of the middle.

So, we push it across the highway into a locals' driveway. Now, when I say a local, I mean a local. This is a gravel driveway of a run down ranch house, with old beat up cars in the yard, farming equiment around. A scene straight out of Deliverance or something. Middle of nowhere. I don't know a lot about fixing cars (thank god I have a good mechanic), Joe is trying to help diagnose the car. Seems to be electrical. Checked the fuses, used a volt meter to check other things. Can't find the cause. After about 30 minutes, we just figure the car wasn't going to start, so the owner was going to use the locals' phone to call a flatbed, and Joe and Pats' car and my wife and I left. I didn't have a cell phone and Joe had to split. We made sure he was going to be OK to use a phone and not get stranded. I left, and Joe left shortly after me (I think). I still had no clue where we were. Except lost.

I stopped at a gas station about a mile up the road to ask for directions. Turns out we were only about 2 miles from the hotel complex. Got the Cobra back to the parking lot. Picked up my truck. We came to the Fling using my father-in-laws' pickup truck and my mechanics open trailer. My wife and I decided we couldn't leave this guy there, especially now that we knew where we actually were and how close he was. So we went back to pick him up.

The Cobra is in the mouth of this locals' gravel driveway facing forward. I squeezed by and pulled in front of him. There is no way we were going to be able to wench his car onto the trailer forward because it is too low to the ground for the wench cable. So we try a running start to push the car onto the trailer. Like I said, a 588ci blown Cobra is heavier than you think. Forget it... So we push it out of the driveway, and turn it around. Hook the wench up to it and pull it onto my trailer.

Now we've got his Cobra on my trailer and there are 4 of us. My wife, me, himself and his wife. My pickup is a short cab 2001 Chevy 2500. We had junk in the middle of the seat, so no room for anyone buy my wife and I. So he and his wife had to sit in the Cobra facing backwards.

So I'm now facing forward in this local's gravel driveway. The driveway is NARROW. There is no way I can back out, as Rt. 40 is a highway, and I can't back a truck and trailer onto the highway. So I've gotta turn around in this guys yard. I pull into the driveway all the way and make a hard right onto his front grass. Suddenly I see him come outside. I'm thinking "crap, he's going get a shotgun and kill me". No lie, this guy was wearing jean overalls, had a dark beard and was quite overweight. Exactly what I'd expect to see. I apologize for running into his lawn. Thankfully he says "Don't worry none about that....that's a right perrrrrty car you got on that there trailer". Whew.... But taking no chances, I want to turn around quickly. I'm new at driving a truck and trailer, so in my haste to turn around, I got the truck at a 90 degree angle with the trailer. I backed up just a little too far and put a big ol' dent in the large tool box on my mechanics' trailer. But nonetheless, we got turned around and high tailed it out of there.

Turns out it was a wiring problem with the car and he had it running Sunday morning. Sadly, I didn't even get the chance to catch up with him when he ran it Sunday. I wanted a ride down the drag strip in that monster!!

Steve

RACERAL · #2 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 05:43 AM

Well, for about 6 months I had been listening about all the bad ars drinkers the Gasholes were..So, being from North Carolina, a trip to the hills for a little shine seemed like the thing to do. Only problem is.. how do you transport a gallon and a half of "bootleg"
from NC to Ohio.. last I heard that was illegal...They call it hauling "Lick'er"...
Anyway, being the smart person I am, I poured it into 12 of the cutest little pint 'mason jars" you ever did see, put it in a box and wrapped it up like a christmas present...up the road I go.

Well, I got to the motel Friday about 2ish.. checked in and got my Christmas present out of the car,(unwrapped it) then made my way to where the Gashole's were.. I looked around for Turk.... having never met him.. I asked one guy...."are you Turk... Fuc$ NO I ain't Turk!!... on well.. I moved on.. Finally I found him and Jamo.... and gave it to them and started passing it out to anybody with a Gashole hat on...
Jamo said.. " will it make me go blind"!!!! I had a few special jars of "damson shine", which is real sweet, kinda like wine, only 190 proof.. good stuff.. they thought the damsons that was in it was pig nuts..... Oh well, you can't expect folks from California to know everything...
I don't know the out come or if anybody drinked it.. hope they did.. it will cure what ale's ya....
I did hear one story of someone trying to carry some of it back on the plane with them and it had a little leak in it... I know that smelled good.... that stuff could be considered a wepon of mass destruction....

Well, all I know is.. I got me a Gashole hat, and when I went back to my motel with my hat on.. I was the envy of the Fairfield Inn..
Thanks for the fun guy..... I want forget it soon!!!!!

Hotfingrs · #3 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 05:44 AM

After the Saturday show of The RipChords...I asked one the the lead singers...Dr Bob...( they all have real jobs, and only play about 30 dates a year)...if he wanted to go for a ride. I took him down the highway of life...enough said on that. After the ride, he said bring the car up to the bandstand. Which I did. The band then took pictures around the car, I even managed to sneak into a couple of them, and then signed an 8x10 for me. That night at the QSL the lead singer Richie stopped by our table and chatted a while. I told him that I had left their CD at home, and was pleased that they signed the pic for me. He then told me that if I was pleased with the pic, he had some better news...they had looked at the pics that their photographer had taken, and like one so much that they were going to use it on their new album due out around xmas....and I would get a credit for the car....thought that was pretty kewl....

CowtownCobra · #4 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 06:08 AM

Positive and funny?

How about sitting at my computer the whole weekend laughing my a$$ off at the blow-by-blow accounts of the happenings there.

Jamo · #5 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 10:54 AM

Great idea for a thread!

-Went to airport to pick up Turk. Held up a sign which said "Displaced Mongolian". Turk found me.

-Turk lets Brent out of car, and before Brent shuts the door--Turk takes off, running over Brent's foot.

-Turk and Brent following Wilf and me back to hotels on Sunday. I had a half a cup of water to get rid of--so I tossed it back at them. Then they got in front and tossed one back...with ice! [no damage]

-Pat did Crilly's doll over Turk's fender...pants down to his ankles--anyone get pics?

-Gave a son, then a mother rides in London. They were locals and just kept talking about what great folks we were to raise money for CF and bringing more attention and business to their little fair.

-Gasholes and Capital Area gang got together one night at a local eatery's patio. Also had Bob Marsh, Tom Kirkham and that little guy from SPF (somebody help me with his name) in attendence. Quite the little gathering.

-Capital Area gang and Gasholes got together and bought Blackjack a neon sign off a bar wall that said "Jack lives here". I think we made the old fart's day. All Jay's idea.

-When the Gasholes got to the resturant/bar, one of the Capital gangsters had beers and shots lined up all the way around the bar--waiting for his fellow gang members. So we did the Gashole thing--we sat down and drank the beers and the shots. Thanks CACC!

-Kissing Hotfingers was ok, but lifting his legs while he sat in a chair and moving in postion to give him what he really needed was priceless. His wife never flenched...I think she likes to watch.

More to come if this thread lives...

Hotfingrs · #6 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 11:51 AM

Jamo, she thought she was next, and was waiting patiently...but you let her down...

Tony Ripepi · #7 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 01:36 PM

Hi Guys,

Missed the fling but, saw Joe Kennedy this morning at Athens breakfast.......He left Monday from London and arrived here in California Wednesday. His car came to breakfast and as far as I am concerned was the best looking of the 30 cars that were there this morning.

Road Grime, cracked windshild and the widest grin of the bunch of owners there today....Joe has 17,000 miles of smiles on his SPF had an accident with it right before the fling....had it repaired...drove directly form Bill Emersons shop after the work was done and shipped it to the fling....then drove back across the US of A without a bit of trouble other than the stone chip that left him with the cracked glass.

Good positive stuff from the fling ---- Congratulations Joe Kennedy.....A red shirt !!!!!!

Tony R.

Jamo · #8 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 04:06 PM

Which reminds me...I forgot to mention Joe's bed surfing.

Joe had consummed mass quantities of liquids (like we all did). We were all sitting around in Turk's room when I noticed Joe was nodding off. Buckley went over to the side of the bed that Joe was sitting on to catch him if need be, but he never had to!

We all silently watched Joe weeving and hanging over in several directions--to the point that he should not have recovered from the force of gravity--only to see him alter the basic laws of nature and lean the other way. Never woke up! Sucker could've walked a tight rope!

BTW--great guy.

PatBuckley · #9 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 05:13 PM

I have to laugh just thinking about that.....more than a few I times I thought he was going to Floorsville for sure!

Did you notice that despite being so out of it he seemed to recover to the point of being able to video Crillysans arrival?

Amazing. Must be Irish.

mikiec · #10 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 05:38 PM

I'll just say this....

SHORT SHEETING.....

Mike

CobraDan · #11 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 09:27 PM

My best friend and his wife came down from Cleveland to visit with us on Saturday, as did my wife’s daughter with her daughter. They have all lived in Ohio their entire lives but had never been to London. When it came time to have dinner I thought it would be better to try a restaurant closer rather then Quaker State. The six of us went to Salvi’s behind Cross Country Inn. The wife and I have eaten there at least once each time we have been to the Spring Flings, the food is good and the portions are huge. Everything went smoothly until the waitress brought the checks. She gave me my check, my friend one and also my stepdaughter. My friend Butch noticed that his bill was twice what it should have been, and it couldn’t be their check because neither one of them had a coffee, and a coffee was on the bill. We got the waitress to come back to our table and told her the problem with the check. She said she had put my stepdaughter’s check on with his but the coffee was actually for the pop that Butch’s wife had and the price was the same. When she came back she also brought me a new check, which was now $1.79 more than before, so I asked her why. She had only charged me for one ice tea and both the wife and I had ice tea. I looked at my buddy and told him if he had picked up the first tab my check would not have gone up by $1.79. He looked at his check and found that there was still a salad that should have been on the stepdaughters check. My wife’s daughter wanted to give a couple of bucks to pay for the salad but my buddy didn’t want the money or call back the waitress, so he finally just paid the check with cash. My wife paid for her daughter’s meal with cash and I laid my credit card out to pay for the wife and me. When the waitress brought back the credit card bill for me to sign I had a new bill, which included everyone at the table. The food was good the portions again were huge, but when it came time to pay I thought I was going to miss out on Sundays program at the Spring Fling.
Dan & Jean

BO DUTCH · #12 (**permalink**) 06-28-2003, 10:12 PM

Dan.

Sounds like "The Creative Accounting" method, highly influanced by "New Math" practices. by college students who flunked both courses !!

Did they speek english, too ?

CobraDan · #13 (**permalink**) 06-29-2003, 03:05 AM

BoDutch,
Actually this lady waitress spoke perfect english but looked like she should join me in retirement in Florida. I know down in Florida to be a bag packer for Publix Supermarket you have to be a least 90 plus years old to even be considered, or my wife could get her a room in the nurseing home were she works. It might be next to mine as my wife always tells me my room is waiting.

At this time having just turned 64 I wouldn't consider going back to work for another 25 years living here in Florida.

Actually if all the Older people in Florida wouldn't go back to work, unemployment in this country would be over, and there would be jobs for everyone.
Dan

wilf leek · #14 (**permalink**) 06-29-2003, 03:55 PM

Spring Fling - an excercise in sleep deprivation!

Having been awake for 24 hours straight on Thursday, and travelling for most of them, eating, drinking, and bs'ing with Gasholes for the rest, the absolute best moment was Jim Crilly's arrival at 1.30 am Friday. So pleased to see him arrive safe after his marathon run from Kalifornia. (40 hours for 2,400 miles, this guy is not human - sprang out of his cobra fresh as a daisy)

And what were the first words of greeting to Jim from the assembled Gasholes??

"What took you so long?"

Jamo · #15 (**permalink**) 06-29-2003, 06:51 PM

...and where's the freeking pizza. He called when he was still an hour out, so we asked him to pick up some pizza on his way in.

I mean, he was already in his car--what's the big deal?

CowtownCobra · #16 (**permalink**) 06-29-2003, 07:03 PM

Silk · #17 (**permalink**) 06-30-2003, 11:13 AM

Here are a couple of links to some of the more, um, "entertaining" scenes at the Fling -

Gasholes & CACC
http://www.capitalareacobraclub.com/...9/IMGP0023.jpg

Same people, but now all a$$holes
http://www.capitalareacobraclub.com/...9/IMGP0024.jpg

Jamo, I think this might be photographic evidence you're looking for documenting the shocking events that transpired on Turk's fender (pic is blurry, which is not surprising sinice the action was furious)
http://www.capitalareacobraclub.com/...0048.sized.jpg

Imagine awaking from a deep sleep to this moon over London
http://home2.nikonnet.com/sessions/2...10/5618730.jpg

computerworks · #18 (**permalink**) 06-30-2003, 11:23 AM

geez...Gary, I was all ready to fix the code in your post so the pictures showed in-stream... then I looked at the pics!

...I think I will leave them as hotlinks.

Silk · #19 (**permalink**) 06-30-2003, 11:28 AM

A wise decision, me thinks!

Flyin_Freddie · #20 (**permalink**) 06-30-2003, 12:03 PM

Okay..besides raising almost a $100 grand for one of the most deserving causes I know....

One of my favorite stories was on Sunday night....as usual, several of us were BS'ing in the parkling lot - fellow Gasholes, A$$holes, and assorted hangers on. My buddy, Ron, and I see Turk and Jamo discussing whatever Turks and Jamos discuss in times like this. Suddenly, both of the stop talking with a look of surprise - (or was that disgust?) - on their faces. They both slowly turn to look at Pat Buckley (LNP) standing on the other side of the car from where they were talking. Neither Turk nor Jamo said a word....and neither did Pat for that matter. He just sorta shrugged his sholders and cocked his head as if to say, "Yeah, that was me...so what of it?" . Turk and Jamo just shook their heads and went back to talking.

I understand the EPA has declared the south end of the Cross Country parking lot eligible for Superfund Clean-Up money.

:LOL