As he sat on the couch, he heard the homeowners return. This is the moment in an American film where the pump-action shotgun appears. John’s heart nearly stopped when he came face-to-face with homeowner Virgil Schmitz. “I told him my car was in the ditch and I was freezing,” John recalls. Instead of calling the police — or worse — Virgil and his girlfriend burst into laughter.
“We saw your car down there, but never imagined someone would actually be inside our kitchen.” Instead of a police escort, John got a slice of rhubarb pie and a warm place to sleep. “It was a different time,” he says. “People weren’t as paranoid as they are now.”