They thought it was just kids playing pranks, but it turned out to be an angry 72 year old man, instead. From 2003-2005, a number of former teachers and school admins in NY reported a rash of vandalism at their homes. They would wake up to punctured car tires from roofing nails scattered across their driveways… and garage doors & mailboxes splattered w/paint. Some victims complained of being hit every two weeks.

It went on for nearly 2 years until perpetrator was caught…

Turned out vandal wasn’t a rebellious student but a former co-worker named Thomas Haberbush who was still angry about poor performance reviews he had received in 1977, when he was dismissed as teacher. The police investigator… “I’ve never seen anyone carry around a grudge like that for 30 yrs…it’s bizarre”

Another man went to his doctor after he was bitten by a stray dog… Doctor comes in and says… “Yes indeed, you do have rabies.” As soon as heard that, man got out pen and paper… and began making a list of people… Doctor said “Listen, no need to call all those people… you’re not going to die. There is a cure for rabies.” Man answered… “Oh, I know that. I’m just makin’ a list of all the people I’m gonna bite.”

Yet another story I read was about a woman who was in a department store checking out… As she opened her purse to get her wallet, the sales clerk noticed a TV remote inside. “Need batteries?” She said… “Oh no. My husband wouldn’t come shopping with me today because he’s trying to flip back and forth between 2 football games at once. So I figured that taking the remote while he wasn’t looking was the most evil thing I could do to him without getting in trouble.”

These are humorous stories, but they are also relatable. What makes these stories resonate with us? What makes us chuckle but in an understanding sort of way? Truth is, while we might not use the same tactics these individuals used—maybe we’re too mature for that, we at least understand the desire behind them. The desire for revenge. Sweet revenge. We are all familiar with that desire, even if we haven’t acted upon it. We all can understand the desire to even the score, to get back and someone who did something to us, or to achieve a sense of satisfaction from getting even with someone else.

But revenge has a cost. It might make us feel good for a little while, but it always costs us. . .