Suspicious Ordinance Boxes and the Bomb Squad

This afternoon there was an article on Facebook about a French Air to Air Missile that had been found at MacDill Air Force Base, something that seemed to put them all on alert.  It included a picture of the bomb squad loading the item onto a transport vehicle to be taken away.

“It’s not every day that the bomb disposal team from MacDill Air Force Base gets called out to deal with a French air-to-air missile. But last Friday was no ordinary day.”

That brought back a memory from when I was a police officer back in 1980.  My partner, Donnie White and I were assigned a walking beat in downtown Houston, part of an attempt by the police department to establish what they called Community Policing.  Basically they wanted us out meeting local business owners and the public in a less threatening manner rather than driving by in a patrol car on our way to a call.

While performing the duties as assigned we observed a delivery truck parked next to a multi-level parking garage owned by Foley’s department store in town,.  In the back of the pickup truck were two OD Green military style ordinance crates strapped together, one being about four foot long and the shorter one about two foot long.

(Image of a similar crate configuration courtesy of Dreamstime)

What got our attention was the stenciling in bold letters.  I wish my memory were better; but the one in the smaller of the two boxes was listed as a Warhead for a certain type of rocket launcher while the box below it was listed as that type of rocket launcher.

We hadn’t seen the delivery truck driver and so we waited a while, and waited some more.  Each minute passing gave us time to be more concerned.  Perhaps something or someone had spooked the driver away as we never would leave.  It was about this time that we called our supervisor and asked if it might be a good idea to have the bomb squad check by our location.

About twenty minutes went by before the bomb squad technicians showed up in their specialty box truck.  They carefully examined the ordinance boxes and were about to open them when the driver of the delivery truck happened to come along.

They asked to see the paperwork for his delivery items, mostly to see what was listed in the two ordinance boxes.  The inventory sheet showed they contained industrial bearings.  Upon opening the boxes, very carefully I might add, it turned out to be just that, industrial bearings for some kind of oil field project. 

Whoever packed the bearings didn’t bother to paint over the military ordinance markings, something which is required by law.  It all made for an interesting dry run for the bomb squad technicians and a memorable day for two walking beat police officers.

Instinctive Reaction – Rationalizing Criminal Behavior

Having been around on this spinning planet for quite some time, I thought I’d heard most of the excuses for bad behavior.  But; there’s a prosecutor in the Portland area who added a new twist, a dangerous precedent in rationalizing criminal behavior.

 It was difficult believing what my eyes were reading in a PJ Media article explaining that most of the individuals arrested for rioting in Portland would not be charged or their charges dropped due to their Instinctive Reaction to extreme circumstances caused by…the police.

“Multnomah DA Mike Schmidt says some of the actions of protestors represent “the instinctive reaction of people who have been gassed repeatedly, who have been struck with kinetic projectile weapons, and who have seen other protestors arrested in ways they deeply disapprove of”…

Well, there you have it; when you are involved with a riotous group and don’t want to leave when the police tell you that you’re violating the law it’s now permissible to set dumpsters on fire, burn the American Flag, spit on anyone wearing a MAGA hat or throw rocks at those attempting to enforce the law because it’s only an instinctive reaction.

My head is still spinning after reading what a District Attorney has claimed is reason enough to drop charges against those arrested in the Portland riots.

The Rule of Law is being tossed in the garbage along with common sense. 

Let’s take this “Instinctive Reaction” for a test spin, see what it can do; kind of like taking a new sports car out of the showroom prior to purchasing one…

Consider if you will...There’s a line of police officers standing in front of an unruly mob burning American flags, aiming high powered lasers at them in an attempt to blind them while at the same time tossing flaming bottles of incendiary liquids at them.  Is that a fair picture of what’s been going on in Portland?

Instead of ordering the rioters to leave or be arrested, some of the officers “deeply disapprove” of how these individuals are behaving based on societal norms.  Using the DA’s own words, these police officers “deeply disapprove” of the assaults being waged against them and draw their weapons in defense of life and property.  A hail of bullets takes out several rioters and the rest leave with their tails tucked between their legs.

According to the rationalization of “Instinctive Reaction”, the police officers shouldn’t be charged with any criminal act since they had been subjected to hours of harassment and minor physical assaults which culminated in their “deep disapproval” of the situation.

I remember the first time I watched the movie, The Blues Brothers, where the NAZI Party was holding a protest, shouting and rebuking those who didn’t agree with their cause.  It was a welcome sight to see the Blues Brothers drive their car through over the bridge forcing these NAZI protesters to jump into the water in order to keep from being run over.  I suppose the Blues Brothers “deeply disapproved”, as did most of those watching the movie as folks were laughing and slapping their knees in agreement.

I don’t think America is ready for the application of criminal law that would turn America into a lawless chaotic third world country, a country devoid of the Rule of Law.  Perhaps Portland’s citizenry will figure out that “Instinctive Reaction” is just another excuse for not upholding the laws of the land, they’ll replace their District Attorney with someone who actually intends to do their job.

A Temple Experience

My friend David Nell asked if I’d share an experience regarding the Temple, something that could be described as a life altering moment.  There have been several ‘Temple Moments’; but this evening I’ll focus on only one of them.

About 13 years ago my friend Richard Sutton was President of the Houston Temple.  He was also a member of my home Ward and so we often got to visit in the hall after meetings.  He mentioned a change of policy for Temple Ordinance Workers that had gone into effect Church-wide.  Men were no longer to sport facial hair like mustaches or beards; instead, they were to present themselves clean shaven, much as young missionaries serving a full-time mission.

In that moment, the conversation registering in my mind, I had to consider how I’d react to being asked to shave off my mustache and beard, something I’d enjoyed for quite some time.  I wasn’t a Temple Worker; but there was something in the way the conversation was going, a tone in President Sutton’s voice that hinted that he wanted to hear my response.

I remember pausing before answering as I considered how unimportant, in the scheme of things, how unimportant my beard and mustache were.  I’d accidentally shaved off most of my beard when I got careless with the razor; but it grew back in a short time. 

“Not an issue, Sir”, I remember addressing him as if he were my commanding officer in the military.  “I’d shave it off, if asked”.  He nodded and I couldn’t say if the conversation continued at the time.  But, I did go home and shave off my mustache and beard to prove to myself that they really weren’t that important, that I would still be me with or without the facial hair.

Several days went by and we were sitting on the sofa watching a movie when my son looked over at me and asked, “Did you get a hair cut; you look different for some reason?”  Nobody had noticed I’d shaved my beard and mustache; that’s interesting and worth noting.

A couple of weeks went by and my Bishop asked me to step into his office. Apparently President Sutton had requested I become a Temple Ordinance Worker, sent over the required form and wanted to know if I’d accept that calling.  I’ve been working at the Houston Temple ever since, a little over 13 years now. 

I did grow some facial hair for about a month during the Temple closing due to the COVID 19 Virus; but decided that I’m better off with a smooth face, having an industrial grade broom on my lip isn’t stylish and it itched something fierce.