Stroller: Scammers, Dodge's Store and The Green Book

TODAY’S WORD is cupidity. Example: The cupidity for power blinded them to the needs of their constituents.

THURSDAY’S WORD was festoon, meaning a string or chain of flowers, foliage, ribbon, suspended in a curve between two points. Example: The wedding arch was a festoon made of delicate white flowers that swayed in the gentle breeze.

A new study shows online scammer have broken the $10 billion mark for the first time ever.

A record $10.3 billion was stolen in the U.S. in 2022 — more than the GDP of 66 countries — and up from $6.9 billion the year prior. Here in Virginia, 11,882 victims lost $205 million, number 14 in the nation.

America is the most-scammed country in the world due to its affluence and reliance on technology. Since most victims send money to foreign fraudsters, U.S. law enforcement has no jurisdiction, and the overwhelming majority of money does not get recovered. That’s why it’s critical to avoid scams before they occur.

Social Catfish, a reverse image search company, on Tuesday released its third annual study that involved a poll of 5,500 online scam victims and found the crypto accounts for nearly 25% of all losses, only 4.2% of stolen funds are recovered, teens have seen the largest increase in money lost, and 81% of romance scam victims are too ashamed to file a report.

A friend of the Stroller lives in Bassett Forks and visits Dodge’s Store there most everyday. The sign on the store at 5683 Virginia Ave. says “Established in 1872.” This was the year after rancher Henry J. Sitler built a sod house west of Fort Dodge in Kansas to oversee his cattle operations and quickly became a stopping point for travelers.

The city is known for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West.

Headquarters for the Dodge Store chain is based in Tupelo, Mississippi. The store in Bassett is one of only three in Virginia. The other two are in Newport News and Norfolk.

A 1961 ad in the Green Book, known as The Negro Motorist Green Book, featured the Paradise Inn in Martinsville offering clean, comfortable showers, a restaurant with home cooked food, and a beauty salon and barber shop for a tourists convenience.

Can a kangaroo jump higher than a house? Of course, a house doesn’t jump at all.

Two friends are talking:

My doctor told me I must stop playing football.

What? Is he sure? Did he examine you properly?

Not really. But he did see me playing.

Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play. — Heraclitus

THURSDAY’S TRIVIA ANSWER: The philtrum is the midline groove in the upper lip that runs from the top of the lip to the nose. The way the philtrum appears is determined genetically.

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: What term is used for the speed at which a piece of music is played?

Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Farmville's Oliver Anthony exploded onto the music scene earlier this month with his viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond.”

TODAY’S WORD is antepenultimate. Example: The antepenultimate episode of the thrilling TV series kept viewers on the edge of their seats.

Legendary acts like Kurtis Blow, Kid ’n Play, Soulsonic Force, Roxanne Shante, CL Smooth, Melle Mel and Scorpio, The Sugarhill Gang, Peter Gun…

Announcements may be sent to [email protected], brought to the newsroom at 19 E. Church St., Martinsville, or mailed to P.O. Box…

TODAY’S WORD is obstreperous. Example: The obstreperous crowd at the concert drowned out the performer’s voice.