I've mentioned before that John was physically fearless. I understand that young children learn how they are supposed to react by looking to their parents or caregivers when, for example, they fall down. Are they supposed to cry or laugh, stay down or get up? John must have skipped that developmental stage entirely. He didn't try to get hurt, but perhaps he knew that the consequences weren't as dire as parental dramatics would lead one to believe. So he was optimistic about outcomes, and is there anything more optimistic than taking a hard turn on a bike while barefoot?
John's reputation as a troubleshooter grew, and so did the list of people who wished him harm. There were never any provable threats against his life, but we didn't know that at the time. Sarah and David were simply being cautious here, backing away as John unwrapped a package.
After his success with the Ancient Burial Ground Vortex was written up in the Globe, John was asked to intervene in all kinds of conflicts between the realms. He couldn't drive so our parents would take him wherever he was needed. If the location was nice the whole family tagged along and picnicked while John descended into the Underworld. Usually the conflicts were about something minor. In this case I think the Balrog of Cachuma was disputing his cable bill. John convinced him he wasn't being singled out, that the cable companies are just as infuriating to humans as they are to balrogs. They had a Coke, then jointly terrorized the C-Suite at Cox Communications until the problem was resolved.
