Foreign exchange student in Greenwood enjoying milk, smiles, American experience

February 11, 2006

By JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writer

After a year of experiencing the country as an exchange student, when Chutima “Ing-Ing” Pichayajittipong gets on a plane for Thailand in June, there are two things the 15-year-old would probably like to take with her in a suitcase. Pop Tarts and a Jersey cow.
Swallowed up in a fuzzy orange Gap sweatshirt, the soft-spoken girl who says she barely knew English when she came here, speaks with ease as she talks about how much she loves to drink the milk in America.
After her older brother spent a year in Ohio as an exchange student, Ing-Ing said her parents wanted her to go to America as well. Not that it took much force. Ing-Ing said it has been her dream to come to America since she was about 3 years old.
“People in the U.S. are very friendly,” Ing-Ing said as she swung back and forth in an office chair. “When I smile, they smile back and in Thailand people may not do that.”
Ing-Ing said before she came to America, she had thought all Americans were fat because the food they eat is high in sugar and fat. She said she was very surprised to see that they are not all that fat at all.
As a sophomore at Greenwood High School, Ing-Ing said she was also surprised by how differently the schools are structured here than in Thailand.
Aside from having to wear a uniform and more classes that go until 5 or 6 p.m., Ing-Ing said it is a rule that girls in school must keep their hair cut above their earlobes.
“Your hair must be cut every three months,” she said with a strand of her now shoulder-length hair twisted around her finger. “If it is long, the teacher would cut it.”
Perhaps slightly rebelliously, Ing-Ing said she is going to let her hair grow until she goes home, and that her parents will probably think it’s pretty.
Donna and Kendall Adams are the second of three host families that Ing-Ing will stay with while here. Ing-Ing is a Rotary exchange student whose time in Greenwood is hosted by the Greenwood and Emerald Rotary clubs.
Donna said she has noticed that Ing-Ing has become much more outgoing since she first arrived, and that she has developed her vocabulary tremendously.“I think she spells better than my 17-year-old,” Donna said with a smile. “She’s learned a lot of slang since she’s come to our house. It’s like a whole other language. (My son) has been teaching her to rap. I’m sure her parents will appreciate that.”
When Ing-Ing isn’t at school winning third place for a drawing she did of a baby, she said she loves watching movies like “Cheaper By the Dozen 2” and “The Fantastic Four.”
With her fist in the air, Ing-Ing said she has wanted to go to New York City to see “that lady” since she saw the Statue of Liberty in the movie “Titanic.” Donna said Ing-Ing will be going on a trip to Washington next month where she hopes to see snow for the first time, and then to the western part of the U.S. in June.
“It has been fun to have a girl in the house,” said Donna, mother of two boys. “And learning about someone else’s culture.”
Because of the bird flu epidemic, Ing-Ing said she had stopped eating chicken in Thailand, and has enjoyed eating it again at her favorite restaurant, Chili’s. Donna said there hasn’t been any food Ing-Ing has not tried, and though she has come to love French fries, chocolate and milk, Ing-Ing said she misses the spiciness and hot flavors of Thai food.
“When I first came here, I tried the food and didn’t like it,” she said. “The taste was different.”
Ing-Ing, who Donna said seems to be a “daddy’s girl,” said she also misses her family and friends that she usually only gets to communicate with through e-mail. Because of the 12-hour time difference, most of her friends are in bed when she could chat with them on instant messenger.
But before she gets to go back home, where Ing-Ing said the first thing she’ll do is eat Thai food, Ing-Ing said she would like to go skiing and see polar bears. In the meantime, she will enjoy watching Americans do extreme things such as skydiving.
“People here do exciting things,” she said. “In Thailand, we’re scared to do them.”

Eagles stymied by odd offense

February 11, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

Former Princeton basketball coach Pete Carill would have been pleased if he had attended the boys basketball game between Greenwood and Laurens high schools. The Raiders dropped the Eagles (13-9, 6-4), 54-41, in front of a large crowd Friday at Greenwood.
The Raiders used a slow-down, “Princeton-style” offense-made famous during Carill’s tenure as coach at the Ivy League institution.
The offense utilizes a series of passes and screens designed to eat up clock and confuse defenses.
“We knew what they were going to do as far as the Princeton offense,” Greenwood coach Hob Chandler said. “If you don’t come out and get a lead against Laurens, you’re going to be in trouble.
“They controlled the tempo all night. We were beaten by a better team tonight, and that’s all there is to it.”
Greenwood’s loss, combined with Westside’s win over T.L. Hanna Friday, creates a tie for second place in Region I-AAAA between the Eagles and the Rams.
The two teams split their two games during the regular season. Chandler said he and the Westside coaching staff will meet this morning in Anderson to work out a tie-breaking equation.
Chandler said the tie-breaking formula will depend on which team performed better against common competition during the regular season.
The team that “wins” the tie-breaker will get the No. 2 seed for the playoffs and will host a home playoff game Wednesday.
The team that comes up short in the tie-breaking equation will get the No. 3 seed and will be forced to travel in the first round.
Laurens’ Ricky Anderson led all scorers Friday night with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Greenwood point guard Andre Day popped in 12 points to lead the Eagles.
It was evident from the start that Laurens wanted to establish its gameplan. The Raiders controlled the opening tip and immediately began using their stall tactics.
Laurens dribbled, passed and held the ball for 2 minutes, 30 seconds before finally getting a mid-range jump shot from Eric Dendy.
The Eagles were able to generate several steals later in the quarter, turning two into baskets by Anthony Chalmers and A.J. Lomax.
The Eagles led 7-3 heading into the second quarter.
Laurens ran out to a big lead before halftime.
It appeared the Eagles had a handle on things, leading 15-9 with 4:24 left in the half. However, Laurens went on a 17-0 run to end the half.
The Raiders did so on an array shots, including back-to-back jumpers from Glenis Todd and a pair of 3s from Anderson. Laurens held what turned out to be an insurmountable 26-16 halftime lead.
“We’ve got to refocus and get ready for these playoffs,” Chandler said.
“Whether we’re a two seed or a three, we’ll be ready to play on Wednesday.”

Lady Eagles close out regular season with win

February 11, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

The Greenwood High School girls basketball team can now focus its full attention on the Class AAAA state playoffs.
The Lady Eagles (16-3 overall, 8-2 region) downed Region I-AAAA opponent Laurens (11-10, 5-5), 42-39, Friday on Senior Night at Greenwood.
The Lady Eagles finished second in the region and will host a home playoff game Tuesday.
“Last year, we were not even close to the playoffs,” Greenwood caoch Susan Thompson said. “I’m very pleased with the way these girls played this year. The game tonight was ugly, but we’ll get to work (Saturday) getting some things straight before the playoffs.”
The game was a physical, defensive contest that did, at times, resemble Thompson’s “ugly” moniker. The height of the squad’s struggles came in the second quarter, when the two teams combined for seven points for the entire period.
“I don’t know what it was,” Thompson said.
“Maybe we were just looking forward to the postseason. We got the win, though, and we’ll take it.”
Syteria Robinson led Greenwood with 15 points, while teammate Vijya Corbett added 10.
Laurens’ Trell Bates had 14 points to lead the Lady Raiders.
Thompson praised the play of Robinson.
“She had some good steals at times,” Thompson said. “She was aggressive all night, especially in the first half.”
Friday’s game looked to be a fast-paced, up-and-down affair in the opening quarter.
Greenwood’s Ashly Chandler and Robinson opened the contest with back-to-back mid-range jump shots. Laurens quickly countered with a 3-pointer from Ali Langford and a high-arching running scoop shot from Bates.
Robinson drained a baseline jumper as the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter, cutting Laurens’ lead to 18-14.

Opinion

Observations ...
... and other reflections

February 11, 2006

A new study from Emory University, which for the first time examined the brains of political partisans, found that it’s emotion, not reason, that drives the political process.
That’s interesting. It explains some of the things that come out of politicians’ mouths. It obviously applies to politicians of all persuasions, as we’ve seen in South Carolina from time to time.
Nothing said here, though, could illustrate what Emory found more than the emotion-over-reason outbursts of Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean. Concerned Democrats must wonder at times if it’s emotion or simply that he doesn’t put his brain in gear before opening his mouth.

* * * * *

Figures show that Americans are spending everything they make these days ….. and maybe more. The spending is pushing the national savings rate to the lowest point since the Great Depression of 1929, reports say.
That’s a double - barreled whammy. It puts many people in a financial bind, naturally, and weighs them down with debt. It also reduces the funding available for house mortgages and many other kinds of consumer loans ….. among other things. When people spend like there’s no tomorrow, it affects retirement. The way retirement programs are going these days, if we don’t save there may not be much of a tomorrow to even worry about.

* * * * *
Master Showman P. T. Barnum said there’s a sucker born every minute. He must have been right. There’s always somebody around who really believes he can get something for nothing.
There also are people who believe in fortune tellers looking into a crystal ball, not to mention telling the future by reading palms, tea leaves, taro cards, bumps on the heads (phrenology), and even animal entrails. Some even believe that tricks by sleight-of-hand artists are the real thing.
How many times does someone have to remind us there is no free lunch before we learn it’s true? But, then, some of us never have the slightest clue and will buy a pig in a poke.
No wonder some politicians keep on getting elected. They know, of course, but the suckers among us never get it.

Obituaries

Carrie Pearl Brown

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Carrie Pearl Wideman Brown, 72, of 2411 Harwick Court, wife of James Brown, died Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006 at Saint Joseph Hospital.
Born in McCormick County, S.C., she was a daughter of the late Elijah and Amanda Josephine Harrison Wideman. A 1951 graduate of Mims High School and Lovinia Beauty College of Augusta, she was a cosmetologist for several years and retired from Graniteville Mills after 25 years of service. She was a member of Shiloh A.M.E. Church in McCormick.
Survivors include her husband of the home; a stepdaughter, Sharon Denise Brown of Augusta; three sisters, the Rev. Amanda Elizabeth Drennon of Greenwood, Mrs. George (Maude) Singletary Sr. of Detroit and Mildred Ricks of Augusta; a brother, James T. Wideman Sr. of McCormick; five step-grandchildren.
The family is at the home, at the home of a sister the Rev. Amanda E. Drennon, 208 McKellar Drive, Greenwood, and a brother, James T. Wideman Sr., 1016 Kelley St., McCormick.
Services will be announced by Parks Funeral Home, Greenwood.

Mona Detwiler

ANDERSON — Mona Ione Detwiler, 90, widow of the late Donald Oren Detwiler, died Friday, Feb. 10, 2006 at the Hospice House in Anderson.
Born in New Lexington, Ohio, she was a daughter of the late John E. and Vera Pratt Evans. She was a member of The Order of the Eastern Star and Broadway Lake Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, Harold E. Detwiler of San Diego; a daughter, Karen K. McCullough of Due West; seven grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; a great-great-grandchild; two brothers, Robert “Melvin” Evans of Dover, Ohio; and Dwight Leslie Evans of Monterey, Tenn.
Services are 2 p.m. Sunday at McDougald Funeral Home, conducted by the Revs. Jerry Hall and Early Tucker. A private burial is at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Mausoleum, Anderson.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Karen McCullough, 10 Church St., Due West.
Memorials may be made to Broadway Lake Baptist Church Youth Department, PO Box 2901, Anderson, SC 29622 or Mrs. Zoe Kolar’s Special Needs Class, c/o Abbeville High School, 710 Washington St., Abbeville, SC 29620.
The McDougald Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.mcdougaldfuneralhome.com

Catherine Merritt

WARE SHOALS — Janie Catherine Moore Merritt, 84, of 3115 Poplar Springs Road, widow of Jack Merritt, died Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006 at her home.
Born in Elbert County, Ga., she was a daughter of the late Coleman and Katie Sumter Moore. She was of the Baptist faith and was a retired florist.
Survivors include three daughters, Joyce Trotter of Ware Shoals, Brenda Roberge of Greenwood and Mildred Duffell of Waco, N.C.; two brothers, Leland Moore of Athens, Ga., and A.C. Moore of Salem, Ore.; a sister, Velma Moon of Greenwood; 11 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren.
Graveside services are 4 p.m. today at Mount Gallagher Baptist Church Cemetery, conducted by the Rev. Floyd Smith.
Pallbearers are grandsons.
Visitation is 2-3:30 today at Parker-White Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Parker-White Funeral Home is in charge.

Marie Darcy Palonis

Marie Darcy Palonis, 90, died Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006 at the Hospice House in Greenwood.
Survivors include a daughter, Barbara Peters and two grandsons.
Memorial services are 11 a.m. Feb. 18 at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Burial is in Concordia Cemetery, Forest Park, Ill.
The family is at the home of her daughter, 162 Lake Ridge Drive, Ninety Six.