Hey Chuck:
Post where you live and maybe you'll find a club close by.
You can successfully start an engine either way -- flipping it through in the direction of the prop is usual, but you can flick it backwards against compression and it'll often "bounce" when it fires, starting up in the correct direction. Most two-stroke engines whose intake is timed by the crank are capable of running backwards, however all but the most aggressively timed will do so poorly enough that they'll soon backfire and start running forward. Piston-timed and reed valve glow engines will usually run the same in reverse as in forward, which makes them fun to start.
Cox reed valve engines will start in either direction -- in my experience, when you start them the way you want them to go they'll bounce and run backwards, and when you try to start them backwards they'll start backwards. If you're wearing a glove or have a spinner nut ot the prop you can just grab it to stop the engine and try again.
My starting ritual on OS engines (46LA, 25LA, 20FP and Tower 40) is to pull the engine slowly forward while blocking the venturi to prime. Each plane wants a different number of turns and it varies a bit with weather, but it's usually 3-5 turns for a cold engine. Then vigorously flip the engine forward about a dozen times to evenly distribute the prime. Then put on the glow starter and flip (at a contest I'll put on the glow starter, grab the prop firmly, and pull it over center -- if it 'bumps' then I signal the judges and start. If not I prime a bit more).
Different engines want different rituals, but the above should be a good starting point for most modern ABC engines, or any other engine that maintains a good piston seal at low speed. Some ringed engines won't develop much pull at low speed, so you have to prime them by flipping fast or by dribbling fuel in the venturi. The bottom line here is that you want to learn your engine's habits.
If you're flipping and flipping and flipping then either you're doing something wrong, your igniter battery is dead, or your engine is sick.