Bertha is in her yard hanging strings of colored garden lights when a stranger pulls into her driveway and slams on the brakes, reports the Associated Press.

The driver jumps out of the car claiming there’s a bomb in the car and "it’s set to go off any second!" The driver tells Bertha to call 911, then demands the keys to her pickup truck. She refuses, saying the truck is her pride and joy.

The guy tells Bertha he’ll set off the bomb if she doesn’t hand over the keys right away.

"You go right ahead and blow up my house, Mister," Bertha responds, "this place is old and needs a lot of work—I can use the insurance money." What the stranger doesn’t realize is that Bertha is a former middle school principal and is not easily intimidated. She’s used to taking control when things get out of hand. And things are out of hand.

Bertha yells into the house, telling her boyfriend, "Bring me my gun!"

Now, take a look at this picture: Here’s Bertha with her .22 pistol and this nutty stranger circling her with a piece of firewood. The two clash and there’s a struggle for possession of the gun. The gun goes off. A single bullet strikes the guy in the chest, but he ends up with the gun.

Now unarmed, Bertha backs away as the guy jumps into her pickup truck and drives off. Less than an hour later police notify Bertha they’ve arrested the guy while he was in the ER getting a bullet dug out of his chest. Bertha’s pickup is recovered undamaged.

Now what?

Well, Bertha and a few friends go back to finishing the job of hanging lights in her yard. They’re in kind of a hurry because it’s July 3rd and Bertha is getting married the next evening—the Fourth of July. Is Bertha a lady with real spirit, or what?