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GREENSBORO - Once again, it's the vision thing.

You heard that Thursday night in a conference room above South Elm. Some of Greensboro's most plugged-in and pragmatic talked about their trip last week to Charlotte to see how big-city collaboration works.

And even before everyone finished their chicken pasta on clear plastic plates, City Councilman Robbie Perkins drove home what everyone else in the room apparently thought after their trip down I-85.

"There's only one thing I'm concerned about, and that is vision," he told the several dozen people at the seven round tables in the Kress Terrace conference room. "We don't have a vision of where we want to go. That is what we're missing."

Minutes later, everyone talked around tables.

The vision-thing discussion needed three.

"Maybe," someone said, "that's indicative of a problem."

Yes, it is.

For years, we've seen our elected officials operate in parallel universes, and we've watched them get sidetracked by petty skirmishes, name-calling and personal agendas. It's a great business-recruiting strategy.

Now, collaboration among Guilford County's myriad local officials has happened.

But so far, collaboration - or even a courtesy call - hasn't worked.

At least City Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small thinks so.

"The county commissioners will do something, and they won't even look over at us, and those so-called meet-and-greets between the City Council and county commissioners are a joke," she told the group. "Nothing happens.

"Now, in Charlotte, it's more 'I'll pull up my sleeve, you pull up your sleeve, and it's OK if we get pissed at one another,'" she said. "We're too polite. We don't get down to the nitty-gritty."

Say what you will about the trip to Charlotte. People have. The trip backs up a long-held perception that Greensboro is a Charlotte wannabe, a City Without a Leader, that yearns for its own Superman to save the day.

Still, the trip, sponsored by Action Greensboro, the city's community-development cheerleader, has started a discussion about ways to improve, grow, and come together.

Create jobs. Add to the tax base. Take risks. Support projects that will make life better. And cooperate, collaborate, get it done.

We've all heard this kind

of talk before. And you wonder if it'll lead to anything -

anything - beyond a provocative discussion over chicken pasta in a conference room that offers a beautiful view of Greensboro's new downtown.

Then, you meet Jeb Brooks. He's a Greensboro native, a downtown resident, a second-year student at Elon School of Law. He went on the bus trip to Charlotte. He was there Thursday night. And he believes.

Greensboro, he says, can become a "pleasantly superior" place.

"I grew up reading about how bad things are and how Greensboro can't do anything and all that stuff," said Brooks, 25. "But at the end of the day, our elected leaders are our employees, and if we can light a fire under them, then we'll see some action.

"It's our job to build the kind of city we want to stay in."

After the Charlotte trip, Action Greensboro received 11 pages of comments. On page 4 , you'll find this: "Claim it. Go after it. Do it. Don't let people dwell on 'they can do it because they are Charlotte' syndrome. The 101 principles are the same!"

It all reminds me of that classic tune from 1964 with that classic first line. I heard someone sing it, in that recognizable falsetto, just two days ago from a front porch off Logan Street.

I've got to keep on pushin'

I can't stop now

Move up a little higher

Some way, somehow

Make us believe, Greensboro. Make us believe Curtis Mayfield.

That vision thing. We need it.

Contact Jeri Rowe at 373-7374 or jeri.rowe@news-record.com