A policeman’s son befriends a homeless man and his dog and brings them food every day. Then the dog appears unexpectedly and alerts him to an injustice.At twelve, Brian Devlin was small for his age, and not very athletic. His father, Gary, didn’t really understand his shy, bookish son. His son was nothing like him…
He had been a tall, strapping, boisterous boy, always up to his ears in mischief. Gary tried to build his son’s self-confidence, but the harder he tried, the more Brian seemed to pull away.
Brian was smart, that Gary couldn’t deny, and he had a scholarship at a prestigious private college on the other side of town. The boy was scared of taking a bus, but since the school was close to his work, Gary picked him up every afternoon.
Gary was a desk Sargeant at the local precinct, and by the time his work ended at 5:00 p.m., the school day was long over. In the winter, Brian waited in the library and did his homework. But in the summer, he sat on the school steps and waited for his dad, soaking up the sunshine.
One afternoon, when Gary arrived, Brian wasn’t on the steps. He was outside the school gates petting a dog. Brian looked up at his dad with a happy grin.
Don’t make assumptions about people before you know who they are.
“Look, Dad,” he cried, then he said to the dog, “Dance!”
The dog hopped up onto its back legs and did a little jig, front paws up in the air and its tongue lolling out happily.
“Isn’t that so cool?” the boy asked.
“Yes,” Gary said, surprised by the enthusiasm Brian was showing. “Whose dog is that?”
“It’s Carl’s,” Brain said, and pointed at a man sitting on the pavement and leaning back against the school fence. The man was in his forties and he was clearly homeless.
A ragged bundle of blankets lay on the ground next to him, and he was unshaven. The dog, however, was well cared for. It was a Golden Retriever, and its fur was groomed and gleaming.
The man shrank back when Gary looked at him, so he said to his son, “Come on, now, it’s time to go.”
On the way home, Gary said, “Listen, Brian, I want you to stay away from that man and his dog, OK?”
“Carl’s OK and I love Goblin!” Brian protested.
“Goblin?” Gary asked. “Is that the dog’s name? Well, I’m sure Goblins’ a good dog, but I don’t want you befriending vagrants, Brian. Do you understand?”
“But dad…” Brian protested.
“Not another word,” Gary snapped.
The next day, when Gary came to fetch Brian, the boy was studiously sitting on the steps reading a book, but that night, his wife co
mplained that half a roast chicken was missing.
“I don’t understand!” she cried. “I set it aside to make sandwiches for Brian’s lunch and now it’s gone!”
Gary looked over at Brian and the boy looked so innocent that he was immediately suspicious. Was Brian taking food to school for that vagrant and his dog?
Gary started keeping an eye on the pantry and noticed that tins of sausages kept vanishing. He now knew that his son was stealing so he could feed the dog and the homeless man every day. Gary felt a pang.
His son, who had such difficulty making human friends, had bonded with the dog. It was a pity it belonged to a vagrant, a man who might be dangerous.
Two days later, Gary got off work early and when he arrived at the school, he caught Brian outside the gates. He had a bag in his hand and he was saying: “Hey guys, I have your favorite spaghetti, Carl. And for you boy, your favorite sausages!”
“BRIAN!” he thundered. “What are you doing?”
The boy looked up at him, and for the first time, Gary saw fear in his son’s eyes. Immediately he felt a surge of anger
It was this derelict’s fault that his son was afraid of him! He stepped forward and clenched his fists. “Get away from that man,” Gary shouted. “Get into the car!”
That night, Gary and his wife sat down and talked to Brian about the dangers of befriending strange men. Brian shrugged it off. “Dad, I know about stranger danger and bad touching. Carl is NOT like that, he’s nice. You can tell he’s a good person because Goblin loves him so much, and Goblin’s the BEST, smartest dog.”
“Brian,” Gary said quietly. “I’m sure Goblin’s a great dog, but you know what? Hitler had a great dog and he loved him, and I’m sure the dog loved him back. A good dog does NOT make this vagrant a good person. Please stay away from him, Brian!”
“NO!” shouted Brian, and he pushed back his chair. “Carl is my friend and I love Goblin! Why do you always have to spoil everything? I HATE YOU!”
That night, Gary made a decision. He was going to solve this problem his own way…
That Saturday, Brian woke up early to the sound of anxious barking. He thought sleepily, “That sounds just like Goblin!”
Brain jumped out of bed and looked out of his window. It WAS Goblin, and he was standing on the porch barking anxiously and looking very unhappy.
“Goblin!” Brian cried as he opened the door, and immediately the dog ran to him. Goblin put his head in Brian’s lap and started whining. “What’s wrong, boy? Where’s Carl?”
But the dog just whined and shivered so Brian decided to do something he’d always been afraid to do before — go to his dad’s work and ask for his help.
Gary was stunned when he saw Brian at the precinct with the dog by his side. “Brian!” he gasped. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
“Dad!” he cried. “I think something bad happened to Carl. Goblin came looking for me and he’s very scared…” But Goblin wasn’t looking scared, he was looking up at Brian’s dad and growling.
Brian had never heard Goblin growl before. “Dad!” he asked. “What have you done?”
Gary flushed. “Carl was loitering near a school and he was warned off twice, so we arrested him!”
“But dad!” Brain cried. “He did nothing wrong! He’s not well, he needs help…You don’t know anything about him! He’s a veteran and he was in the bomb squad and he worked with sniffer dogs to find explosives. That’s why Goblin’s so well trained. He’s a good man and you arrested him because he’s sick!”
“He’s not SICK!” Gary cried angrily. “He’s a bum!”
Brian had tears in his eyes. “No, dad,” he said softly. “He doesn’t drink or anything, and most of the time he talks to people who aren’t there. He needs help.”
Gary was ashamed of himself, mostly because he couldn’t admit that there was a part of him that was jealous of Carl and his easy friendship with his son.
He did some investigating and discovered that Carl had a sister in a neighboring state who had been looking for him for years. He contacted Carl’s sister and she was overjoyed.
She took Carl home and enrolled him in an outpatient mental health clinic immediately. Goblin went too, of course. Brian missed Carl, but mostly he missed Goblin.
Then one day his dad came home with a big grin on his face and a strange lump under his jacket. He lifted out a wriggling puppy and presented it to Brian. “There you go,” he said. “You have to name him!”
Brian started crying, he was so happy. “Goblin,” he gasped. “His name is Goblin Two!”
What can we learn from this story?
Don’t make assumptions about people before you know who they are. Gary assumed Carl was a drunk and a danger before he knew anything about him.
Kindness and compassion are the greatest of virtues. Brian’s empathy led him to befriend Carl, and he helped him find his way back home.
Entitled Couple Took My Premium Seat on the Plane – I Taught Them a Lesson and Turned It into a Profit
We’ve all been there—settling into a flight, ready for the journey ahead, when suddenly, something goes wrong. For me, that something was an entitled couple who thought they could bully me out of the premium seat I had carefully selected. Little did they know, they were messing with the wrong person. Here’s how I turned an infuriating situation into a satisfying victory and even walked away with a profit.
I had gone out of my way to secure a prime aisle seat with extra legroom, knowing it would make the long flight more bearable. As I settled in, feeling content with my choice, I noticed a couple approaching. At that moment, I had no idea that this interaction would lead to a lesson in standing up to entitlement.
The woman, dressed in designer clothes and exuding an air of entitlement, stopped next to me without so much as a greeting. Her husband, just as arrogant, stood behind her as she demanded that I switch seats with her. She claimed she had accidentally booked the wrong seat and couldn’t possibly sit away from her husband. Her tone made it clear that this wasn’t a polite request—it was an expectation.
I was taken aback by the audacity of her demand. When I hesitated, she rolled her eyes and dismissed me with a scoff, claiming that I didn’t really need the extra space. Her husband chimed in, urging me to be “reasonable,” as if I was the one being difficult. The entitlement was overwhelming, and I could feel the eyes of other passengers on us.
Rather than escalate the situation, I decided to avoid a confrontation. With as much calm as I could muster, I handed over my boarding pass and sarcastically wished them well in my seat. The woman snatched the ticket from my hand with a muttered insult, while her husband smirked, clearly feeling victorious. But as I walked away, my irritation grew—and so did my resolve to turn this situation around.
As I reached the middle seat in row 12, where I had been relegated, a flight attendant intercepted me. She had witnessed the exchange and informed me that the couple had tricked me out of my seat—they were both supposed to be sitting in row 12. The revelation was infuriating, but I wasn’t about to let them get away with it.
I smiled at the flight attendant and assured her that I had a plan. While the middle seat wasn’t as comfortable as the premium one I had given up, I knew it would be worth it. I decided to let the couple think they had won, all the while preparing to turn the tables on them.
About an hour into the flight, once things had settled down, I signaled for the flight attendant and asked to speak with the chief purser. I calmly explained the situation, detailing how the couple had deceived me into switching seats. The purser listened attentively and thanked me for bringing it to her attention, promising to handle it.
A few minutes later, the purser returned with an offer: I could either return to my original seat or be compensated with a significant amount of airline miles—enough to upgrade my next three flights. I chose the miles, knowing they were worth far more than the difference between premium and economy on this flight.
As the flight continued, I noticed activity around row 3, where the couple was seated. The purser, accompanied by another flight attendant, confronted them about their deceit. The look on their faces was priceless as they were informed that their behavior violated airline policy. The purser even mentioned the possibility of them being placed on the no-fly list pending an investigation.
In a desperate attempt to defend herself, the woman blurted out that they weren’t even married—she was his mistress, and they were having an affair. The situation had gone from infuriating to downright bizarre, but I couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction as I watched their smug expressions crumble.
As we landed and I gathered my belongings, I couldn’t resist one last glance at the couple. Their faces were a mix of anger, humiliation, and fear as they faced the consequences of their actions. Meanwhile, I walked through the airport with a sense of triumph, knowing that I had not only stood up to bullies but had also come out ahead.
In my 33 years of life, I’ve learned that sometimes, the best way to get even isn’t to make a scene but to patiently wait for those who think they’ve won to realize just how badly they’ve lost. This experience was a perfect example of that principle in action.
In the end, my encounter with the entitled couple on the plane wasn’t just about a seat—it was about standing up for myself and turning a negative situation into a positive one. By staying calm and thinking strategically, I was able to teach them a lesson they won’t soon forget and walk away with a profit. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the best victories are the ones where you don’t just win—you win on your own terms.
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