In the category of fact is stranger than fiction, the following newspaper article about human nature and the concept of retaliation intrigued me:

JACKSBORO, Tenn. (CN) – A police officer sued Tennessee Farmers Insurance Co., claiming its agent doubled the premiums on his homeowner’s policy to retaliate for the cop’s having given him a speeding ticket.

Ricky Ford, a patrol sergeant for the LaFollette Police Department, sued Farmers and its agent James Daniel Arnold in Campbell County Court.

Ford ticketed Arnold for going 60 in a 40 mph zone, and Arnold "admitted this violation and thereafter paid a fine for speeding," the complaint states.

Ford says that after this, "the defendants sought to cause economic damages to the plaintiff by threatening to discontinue his homeowners insurance coverage, amending his homeowners coverage, which he had had for nearly 11 years, and thereafter doubling the plaintiff’s insurance premiums, all for which the defendants sought to retaliate against the plaintiff for having performed his public duty functions and to otherwise cause serious economic consequences to the plaintiff."

Ford claims that the defendants willfully violated state law by retaliating against him for doing his public duty.

Ford seeks $75,000 in compensatory damages and $225,000 in punitive damages, for unfair trade and interference with contract.

He is represented by David Dunaway, of LaFollette and Knoxville.

(Click Here to see the Complaint)

Sometimes, I can appreciate wanting to strike back at those you feel have wronged you. It typically gets us nowhere — except perhaps a worse situation — and with little gratification. This Chinese proverb is a lesson all of us should remember:

He who seeks vengeance must dig two graves: one for his enemy and one for himself

It is a beautiful Friday afternoon in sunny Florida. My Florida Gators rolled to victory last night. I am going to be screaming and rooting for them again tomorrow on my birthday.

I have about a month to go before the Boston Marathon. So, I am leaving early, going for a 10 miler in the glittering sunlight bouncing from the waters of Tampa Bay. And, I will be thinking about this song along the way:

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0VbmIrKhHxU%3Frel%3D0