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Today's Letters: Wealthy should help fill kettles

Lighter kettles, greater needsDec. 16, story by Curtis Krueger

During the Christmas season the Salvation Army's red kettles are usually buoyed by the beneficence of kindhearted folks.

Why are average households less charitable this year? I think it's because they have scant funds to spare and are cost-cutting to stay afloat themselves. Living expenses, such as gasoline, insurance, taxes, etc., have escalated out of sight, and the working classes are not exactly experiencing domestic bliss because they have monetary problems galore.

The wealthy and well-off should take up the slack and fund the Salvation Army fully so they can help the poorest of the poor to have a Merry Christmas.

Robert B. Fleming, St. Petersburg

Thanks for help

To the good Samaritans:

We didn't get your name, but we wanted to say, "Thank you!"

On Dec. 15 on First Street N in St. Petersburg, our dog Josie slipped her leash. She was running in the road and in danger of being hit. My wife tried but was unable to catch her.

You stopped, opened the door to your truck, and got Josie to jump in, holding her until my wife was able to get to you.

I don't want to think how things could have turned out if you had not stopped and helped. Thank you, for being good people, and for helping strangers in need.

David Desrosiers, St. Petersburg

Who'd do this?

Well it's that time of the year again. How do I know for sure? This year, as in every year that the wife and I have lived here, someone felt the need to steal Christmas decorations from the front lawn. In years past they were satisfied with just a piece or two, never enough to interest the police.

But this year they took about $500 worth of decorations. This resulted in a promise from the police to have a detective call me back. That was on Dec. 8, no calls yet as of Dec. 20.

We put the rest of the decorations away for the year. Perhaps next year we will try again. In the meantime, we have erected a sign on the lawn thanking those responsible for stealing Christmas. We wonder who we will hear from first, the detectives or the city code folks telling us to take the sign down.

Don Pavel, St. Petersburg

Mastering the high-tech checkout lane with poiseDec. 12, guest column

I'm not alone ...

This guest column by Bruce Michaud was a riot. Referring to the mind-boggling process of figuring out how to complete a purchase at the checkout counter, he asks: Have you had this problem?

I'd just like to respond with a resounding yes! Only it's every day with every transaction.

What a comfort to read an exact description of my own harrowing daily experiences, only to realize it was someone else and not myself, which means I'm not alone in being checkout challenged. Oh, thank goodness.

I think we should start a society, immediately, for like-minded folk. We could call it the Dearly Departed (brains, that is). Mr. Michaud could be the prez and I would be glad to back him up as vice.

Thanks for the huge laughs.

Kathryn Mader, St. Petersburg

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[Last modified December 22, 2007, 22:07:33]