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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Former Norcross resident
now living in South Africa
By
Beth Haun
Special
to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's note: Beth Haun, 22, is from Norcross,
and a graduate of Vanderbilt University. She recently moved to South
Africa.)
MARCH 22, 2003 - - Love travels miles, right? This one did. It
traveled 16,000 miles on a 16-hour flight to my boyfriend's hometown
of Pretoria, South Africa, where he now studies Hospitality and
Club Management.
Atlanta and South Africa's cultures are two peas in a pod, despite
this distance. Folks there grill out (or braai) nearly every weekend;
the weather is like our warm seasons year-round (minus the humidity).
They even have a word in Africaans that means "y'all."
It's easy to fall in love with this country.
 An
Atlanta visit in December taught us there is a large South African
population in the area. So it's surprising that so few Atlantans
know about the Africaans culture. Sure, there are some who know
the politics of the Apartheid era, but how many can claim familiarity
with the life rather than the events? And the younger generation
is widely ignorant even of these, harboring only vague ideas about
natives in loincloths. The Africaans culture is one that values
family, camaraderie, and kindnessŠmuch as our own.
Unfortunately, high crime rates interrupt the South African way
of life. Often as one exits the freeway there are signs warning
a "high-jacking hot spot." As a result of these incidents
insurance companies require immobilization and anti-high-jacking
systems in vehicles. And valuables should not be left sitting in
clear view as you drive. Peddlers case your car at intersections
and signal to co-conspirators at the next light. Before you know
it your window is broken and your cell phone is gone. How comfortable
would you be living with those daily fears? But South Africans love
their homeland; they adjust.
Despite what may be a dismal portrait, those with the means to
do so should still consider South Africa as a holiday destination.
The country is not only beautiful and dynamic, it is also an inexpensive
place to travel luxuriously. A direct plane ticket from Atlanta
to Johannesburg costs tourists anywhere from $800 to $2,000, but
further expenses are more reasonable.
Dinner out for a family of six costs about $25. And potential experiences
are once in lifetime opportunities. Imagine watching a young elephant
with its mother in the wild from 25 yards away. Or sitting in the
middle of a sunset that spans breathtaking distances. All of this
within a few miles of a city the size of Columbus.
The streets of Pretoria are lined with luscious lavender blooms
draping from jacaranda trees in November. Wine drinkers pamper their
palettes touring the Western Cape along the Wine Route. The wind
in Cape Town, known as the Cape's Doctor, helps lift the feet of
step-show performers.
But why limit yourself to these adventures? This country is not
only rich in natural resources, but also in people. Make some friends
here. Or, at the least, if you meet one of the many South Africans
in your neck of the woods, show them some good ol' southern hospitality
as they've shown me theirs.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
College
sports on Sunday seems somewhat awkward
By
Elliott Brack
editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com
MARCH 22, 2003 -- Now don't think me a prude, but for years the
idea of playing college sporting events on Sunday has bugged me.
No problem for me with the professional teams playing. But for the
colleges, and particularly those colleges with religious affiliations,
something doesn't add up.
You might consider it my heritage. Going to school at Mercer University,
we never played basketball games on Sunday. Still haven't so far,
though they have played some baseball games on Sunday "after
one o'clock," they point out.
Think of other church related schools. For instance, Duke University
was founded as a Methodist institution. Officially it has no ties
to the Methodist Church today, being independent of its founding
church. Even though its heritage is Methodist, today it's not unusual
at all to see the Duke basketball team playing routinely on Sundays,
as they did last week in winning the ACC tournament.
You can think of other schools, we'll bet, with such a heritage,
which no longer honors that heritage, now that they are playing
in the "big leagues" of college sports.
Yet we were heartened this week when we heard of one big-time university
who still does not allow its sports team to play on SundaysŠ.and
competes very well.
Brigham Young University, a Mormon institution, out there in Provo,
Utah still holds to the principles of no sporting activity on Sunday.
This week the National College Athletic Association even took steps
to ensure that the BYU men's basketball team would not play on Sunday.
It's ranked 12th in the South bracket, and by winning two games,
could advance to the next round which, if they won one more game,
called for a Sunday game.
(There is one more university, Campbell in North Carolina, which
tells the NCAA in advance that it will not allow its teams to compete
on Sunday. It's affiliated with the Baptist church.)
The NCAA has known about BYU's aversion to Sunday games since 1979.
BYU has been in the tournament for 12 times, and each time, they
notify NCAA of their policies, and ask for a bracket with no Sunday
games. It's easy for the NCAA, which schedules alternate night brackets,
with one group playing on Thursday and Saturday, the other on Friday
and Sunday.
At least, it worked until this year, when BYU got put into a bracket
which could have resulted in a Sunday game. The NCAA has a contingency
plan that it's having to trot out, which will raise havoc with lots
of baskeball pools in this country. In one sense, you hope that
BYU advances, so that, indeed, it can show its mettle by not playing
Sunday games.
Interestingly enough, the BYU girls' team is also in their tournament,
ranked 11th. All their games are set for other other than Sundays
....unless ... unless they advance to the semi-finals, which is
in Atlanta on April 6. Should this outside chance happen that the
BYU girls win all their games....it'll be interesting to see what
the NCAA does about this development!
For years the Mormon church has been diligent developing churches
throughout the world. We all admire their hard-working traits. As
a result, they have had tremendous growth, now the sixth largest
church in Gwinnett.
It's good to see an institution like Brigham Young College (and
Campbell University) stick to its principles on no Sunday sports
activity. In an age where principles are flung aside all too often,
to BYU and Campbell, we say "Keep the faith. Hang in there.
No Sunday sports activities."
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
Hudgens Arts Center
plans 4th Papillion Children's Art Festival
The fourth annual Papillon Children's Arts Festival will be on
Saturday, April 12, 2003 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Hudgens
Art Center on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. Admission is free!
.Volunteers are needed for two and three hour shifts. They will
be helping:
-
Giving out of "goodie" bags.
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General crowd control and "cleanliness
patrol."
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Face painters.
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Booth sitters for demonstrating artists’
break-time.
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Pinata event assistance.
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Pottery sale and gift shop "security patrol."
This event will feature art projects, artists’ demonstrations,
performances, contests, pony rides, moonwalks, food, and a remote
broadcast by Radio Mex
George Pierce Park
seeks volunteers in new program
Suwanee residents who are regulars on the walking trails or ball
fields at George Pierce Park are ideal candidates for a new Park
Watch Program.
Gwinnett County Parks & Recreation and the Gwinnett County
Park Police will hold a three-day class beginning April 8 to train
volunteers interested in participating in the Neighborhood Park
Watch program at George Pierce Park, 55 Buford Highway in Suwanee.
The goal of the Neighborhood Park Watch program is to protect
and promote the safe use of Gwinnett County's parks through an
alliance between volunteers, Parks & Recreation staff, and
the Park Police. Volunteers will be trained to recognize and report
potential concerns in the parks. Their observations will help
the Parks & Recreation staff and the Park Police keep the
parks clean and safe for the community.
To sign up as a Neighborhood Park Watch volunteer, please call
Kim Joens at (770) 822-8840 or e-mail to gwinnettparkwatch@co.gwinnett.ga.us.
THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
Consider the value
of all of those business trips
"No one traveling on a business trip would be missed if
he failed to arrive."
-- Economist Thorstein Veblen ("The Theory of the Leisure
Class.")
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