November 1, 2025
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Deep Something

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Watchout for Karma-Kettle Thief May Be Dead

B. John 321 Views , , , , , ,

According to a report in the Tampa Tribune, a man suspected of stealing four Salvation Army Kettles (and trying to steal a couple others), may be the dead driver of a stolen Buick found overturned in four feet of brackish water in West Tampa. While I don’t wish this fate on anyone, and take no glee in this guy’s death, it would seem to karma balancing out the world.

Lee J. George, 41, faced an attempted strong-arm robbery charge for trying to take a kettle from Carliemar White outside a Publix Super Market on Nov. 28, police said. White, 69, held on to the donations pot.

Three hours earlier, a man swiped a kettle outside a Winn-Dixie, police said. In all, a thief has taken or tried to take kettles five times – twice at a Wal-Mart on U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park and three times at Publix or Winn-Dixie supermarkets in St. Petersburg. The robberies occurred from Nov. 28 to Saturday.

Bell-ringer Sarah Clausen, 78, told News Channel 8 that she secured her kettle to its tripod with tape, but that only forced the culprit on Saturday to haul the whole setup to his getaway car, a green Buick Century.

B. John

B. John Masters writes about democracy, moral responsibility, and everyday Stoicism at deep.mastersfamily.org. A lifelong United Methodist committed to social justice, he explores how faith, ethics, and civic life intersect—and how ordinary people can live out justice, mercy, and truth in public life. A records and information management expert, Masters has lived in the Piedmont,NC, Dayton, OH, Greensboro, NC and Tampa, FL, and is a proud Appalachian State Alum.