Well, we're getting close to Whempy's 10 Year anniversary.  It's hard to believe that something started in someone's home has become what it is today, and endured for a DECADE.

So to kick off the 10 year anniversary, I am making this thread for ALL Whempy's attendees, whether you've shown up once or show up regularly, to talk about what Whempy's has meant to you.  Hopefully we can get out a mass email encouraging people to check out this thread so we can get as many contributors as possible.

I will lock the topic until January 1st so that everyone can have a chance to give some serious thought to what they have to say.  Include personal stories, alegories, metaphors, all that kind of stuff.  Contribute to history!

I'll start off, but I promise I'll make it relatively short :)

Contribute and discuss HERE.
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To me, Whempy's has been something extraordinary that is bigger than myself.  It started as just a way to hang out with some friends, and it became a way to be a part of a community.  To be honest, that is what the current admin staff is trying to do: we're trying to create a community.

Why create a community?  Because we want to be more than just a monthly cash cow for people to show up and win something.  In these days, a sense of community has been blurred because of the widespread availability of instantaneous communication.  One might say, well it's one big world community, but you don't get a sense of belonging precisely because of the size.

Whempy's is about reestablishing that feeling of belonging.  Some people might already have that feeling in other ways - I know I do - but this is something bigger than just having family and friends.  This is history.  Whempy's has changed a lot over the 10 year span of existence.  More importantly, the vision has changed.  At first it started as an experiment.  It exploded into a money-making near business venture.  It receded into a period of desperate attempts to keep the flame alive.  It spent some time in limbo.

Now, we have a vision again, and I think that this vision is the core of what Whempy's means.  Togetherness, laughs, frustration, winning, losing, eating, bawls, fire shits after Whempy's Marzetti (complete with 20 pounds of 5 different kinds of pork).  It's a gathering, it's a party.  It's an exclusive club that ANYONE is allowed to join.  It's a place where you can shout "FUCK," at the top of your lungs and you WON'T get looked at like you're a barbarian.

It's the Whempy's Community, and that's what we're going for.  That's what Whempy's means to me.  Something great that I have had the PRIVELAGE of being a part of, twice.