Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, May 11,2022
“Where A Handshake Still Means Something.”
Special to the Ledger
By Kate Scarmalis
You could almost see
him drool. Little Lady
and her friend in tow
were wandering around
his car lot. They were
looking through the
window of a Nissan
White-marked
tussock moth cater
pillars can be seen in
the landscape in the
spring. This species
of tussock moth feeds
on trees and shrubs,
including apple, bass
wood, cherry, elm,
hackberry, maple,
oak, pear, plums,
poplars, redbud, rose,
sycamore, walnut,
and willow. These
caterpillars have been
known to totally defo
liate trees, but I can
not remember seeing
this myself. While
mature trees can
withstand defoliation,
stressed trees may
succumb to defolia
tion. Young caterpil
lars skeletonize leaves.
Larger caterpillars
leave only the larger
veins of the leaf when
feeding.
Predators, para-
sitoids, and a virus
usually do a good job
of keeping this spe
cies in check. Young
caterpillars can be
controlled with pyre-
throid, pyrethrum, and
Spinosad insecticides.
This species lives
in the entire eastern
U.S. as far west as
Minnesota and Texas.
Larvae are 1 to 1.5
inches long. The body
of the caterpillars are
covered by bristles
and tufts of hairs.
Xterra.
Chuckling to himself,
he knew that he could
pull her away from that
model. It was his “come-
on” vehicle. Little Lady
wouldn’t put up with
hand-crank windows,
and definitely wouldn’t
While these hairs do
not contain venom, as
is the case with some
other caterpillars, they
are able to penetrate
human skin and cause
painful rashes.
Male moths have
fully developed wings
and are able to fly. Fe
males have very small
wings and cannot fly.
There are two gener
ations per year. The
overwintering eggs
begin to hatch in late
February. The young
larvae feed on the
remaining egg mass
and then spin a silk
thread that they use to
“balloon” in order to
disperse (think about
Tarzan swinging from
vines) When they
reach maturity, they
seek protected plac
es where they spin
their cocoons. They
emerge over the next
month. Females stay
on their cocoons and
emit a sex pheromone
that attracts the males.
After they mate, the
females lay eggs on
their cocoons and
cover them with a
frothy secretion. The
last generation of eggs
overwinters.
For more infor
mation, call the Lee
County Extension
Office at 759-6025 or
email me at collinsd@
uga.edu
be able to drive a manu
al shift.
She glanced his way
and saw something
familiar. There was
something in the look in
his eye. A woman on a
car lot meant one thing
to this man - fresh meat.
What the unlucky
salesman had no way of
knowing was that this
stripped-down “come-
on” vehicle was just
what she wanted.
Hunter and prey
launched into their face-
off. The only question
was who was hunter and
who was prey.
Little Shark lay down
a contract with the full
asking price filled in on
the bottom line. He was
prepared.
Little Lady was also
prepared. Her research
indicated the factory
price of the vehicle, and
she countered with what
she was willing to pay.
Her bottom line price
was $7,000 less than his
original offer.
A couple of hours
passed. Her final offer
was accepted long after
the car lot had closed. It
came time to close the
deal.
Little Lady went home
that day with her sales
contract in hand. Calling
around the next day, she
received a loan commit
ment for 5.75% to pay
for the car.
One thing was certain.
Little Lady cleaned that
salesman’s clock that
day. All because of a
certain look in his eye.
Is this the way of the
world? Are we doomed
to become prey to the
dishonesty of avaricious
car dealerships?
Well, no. Not in this
community at least.
We have been blessed
to have what may be a
By Harry R. Martinez,
Ph. D
Prophecy, pt. 2
Quite contrary to the
opinion of some who
state that Christians are
“doomsday people,” the
Truth of Scripture does
reveal a future time of
great trouble and dev
astation of the earth.
Those troublesome
times are a time of God
bringing judgment on
the earth and its ungodly
inhabitants for having
rejected Christ as Savior.
That judgment is not
for Christians, for all
who have placed their
trust in Christ have this
assurance ... “Listen, I
tell you a mystery: We
will not all sleep, but we
will all be changed—in
a flash, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, the dead will
be raised imperishable,
and we will be changed.
For the perishable must
clothe itself with the
imperishable, and the
mortal with immortality.
When the perishable has
been clothed with the
imperishable, and the
mortal with immortality,
then the saying that is
written will come true:
“Death has been swal
lowed up in victory”
(1 Cor 15:50-54 NIV).
Recall that on the night
of Jesus’ arrest, He com
forted His distraught dis-
rarity in the usual state
of affairs - an honest car
dealership.
From his
internal font
of faith, de
termination,
trust, and
grit, Darrel
Finnicum
is the proud
owner of
three of
southwest
Georgia’s
most suc
cessful and
respected car dealer
ships, with locations in
Americus, Leesburg,
and Albany.
The story of how Finn
icum Motors came to be
is one of many that has
made this nation what it
is today.
Small business is, and
always has been the
backbone of this coun
try. Talk to the success
ful small business own
er. Theirs is a world of
determination, of sweat
and tears, of good times
and bad, but most of all
- pride in ownership.
In an interview for a
local newspaper, Finn
icum stated, “I will
always remain humble,
so I don’t want this to
sound like I’m brag
ging. But I want us to
be the very best deal
ership around. I want
us to continue to grow
throughout the region,
but I always want us
to remain humble and
remember that no matter
how big we might or
might not get, a hand
shake will always mean
something at Finnicum
Motor Company.”
What he says, Darrel
Finnicum means.
The customer’s expe
rience begins with an
awesome website that
includes the car models
ciples with a previously
unknown Truth. “In
my Father’s house are
many rooms; if it were
not so, I would have told
you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will
come back and take you
to be with me that you
also may be where I am”
(John 14:2-4 NIV). His
return for the Church
will occur prior to God’s
outpouring of wrath.
The question always
arises as to when will
this judgment occur.
Paul, when writing to
the churches in Thes-
salonica expounded the
Truth that believers in
Christ are to be spared
a future time of God’s
judgment on the earth
and its inhabitants.
“Now, brothers, about
times and dates we do
not need to write to you,
for you know very well
that the day of the Lord
will come like a thief in
the night. While people
are saying, “Peace and
safety,” destruction will
come on them sudden
ly, as labor pains on a
pregnant woman, and
they will not escape. But
you, brothers, are not in
darkness so that this day
should surprise you like
a thief. You are all sons
of the light and sons
of the day. We do not
belong to the night or to
that Finnicum Motors
has for sale. Potential
customers
can search
the site us
ing common
keywords.
The site
contains
all sorts of
information,
including
each car’s
mileage, the
odometer
reading, and
information
about its engine. There
is even a link to CarFax
and Car Gurus to learn
about their ratings for
many vehicles.
The customer can go to
the lot, find the vehicle,
and wander around. No
sharks show up.
The price indicated
on their vehicles is the
actual selling price. The
anxiety that is provoked
by having to dicker
around to bring down
the over-the-top asking
price just isn’t part of
the process.
From my experience,
Finnicum asks a fair
price, and I gained con
fidence that the business
was built on fair dealing
and integrity.
So, Little Lady found
the new love of her life
- a 2020 Subaru Ascent
premium model. There
was no tension-filled
dickering involved, just
the process of filling out
the necessary paper
work. And, working
with my salesman, Jeff,
was like dealing with an
old friend.
So I drove off, and
now it’s mine.
What happens after
you sign on the bottom
line? Good question.
Will Finnicum take care
of you if something goes
wrong?
the darkness. So then,
let us not be like others,
who are asleep, but let
us be alert and self-con-
trolled. For those who
sleep, sleep at night, and
those who get drunk, get
drunk at night. But since
we belong to the day,
let us be self-controlled,
putting on faith and love
as a breastplate, and the
hope of salvation as a
helmet. For
God did
not appoint
us to suffer
wrath but
to receive
salvation
through our
Lord Jesus
Christ. He
died for
us so that,
whether we
are awake or
asleep, we
may live together with
him. Therefore encour
age one another and
build each other up, just
as in fact you are doing”
(1 Thess 5:1-11 NIV).
Rather than accusations
of pessimism against
Christians, a correct
assessment would be
that believers in Christ
have an eternal future
with God through faith
in Christ. Jesus encour
aged and challenged
His disciples before His
ascension ... “It is not for
you to know the times or
dates the Father has set
Of course, something
did.
After weeks of waiting
for the government to
let me know that it was
time to register my new
car (apparently the pa
perwork came through
to prove that I’m not a
terrorist), it was time to
attach the new plate.
Apparently, one of the
screws on the tempo
rary plate was stripped,
making it impossible to
attach the new one. So
I drove to the Leesburg
lot, and asked Customer
Service for some help.
Mae greeted me gra
ciously, listened to my
problem, and hooked me
up with a serviceman,
Gilbert, right away.
Normally waiting
around in customer
service is a grinding ex
perience, but Finnicum
gives attention to his
operation, soup to nuts.
The service area where
cars were being serviced
was amazingly clean -
not an oil smudge to be
found.
Gilbert was awesome.
He and a fellow worker
actually had to dis
assemble the interior
plastic covering in order
to fix the problem. He
never regarded me as
some sort of extra bur
den, not in the least.
The employees at
Finnicum Motors regard
their customers as
people that they would
actually like to know.
Unquestionably, the
strength of Finnicum
Motors comes from the
relationships that Mr.
Darrel has made along
the way.
Kudos all around!
Kate Scarmalis, retired
and loving life, is cur
rently working on her
novel, “TellNo Tales”.
by his own authority. But
you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you
will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and
to the ends of the earth”
(“Acts 1:7-8 NIV). Until
Jesus comes, He in
structs Christians to say
... “No, to ungodliness
and worldly passions,
and to live
self-con-
trolled,
upright and
godly lives in
this present
age, while
we wait for
the blessed
hope — the
glorious
appearing
of our great
God and
Savior, Jesus
Christ, who gave him
self for us to redeem us
from all wickedness and
to purify for himself a
people that are his very
own, eager to do what
is good” (Titus 2:12-14
NIV).
Editor’s note: Dr.
Martinez is an ordained
minister and was a
professor and head of
the music department at
Florida State University
School from 1975 to
2003. He is the father of
five adult children and
resides in Lee County
with his wife, Sara.
The Lee County Ledger
Established August 24,1978
lcledger@bellsouth.net
P.O. Box 715 (126 4th Street) (229) 759-2413
Leesburg, Georgia 31763 USPS 470-310
Official Organ of Lee County
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Lee and surrounding counties $20.00 year
Elsewhere $25.00 year
Publisher Derryl Quinn
Editor Jim Quinn
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(USPS 470-310), is published weekly for $20.00
per year in Lee and surrounding counties, and
$25.00 per year else where by its offices at the May
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The University of Georgia • Cooperative Extension Service
It is not unusual to find white-marked tussock
moth caterpillars in the landscape.
White-Marked
Tussock Moth
Caterpillar
Sharing the Word
Kate Scarmalis
Harry R. Martinez