The Del Coronado Hotel is one of the finest in the country. Every President since it was built has stayed there. It was there that Marilyn Monroe filmed, “Some Like It Hot.” Even Babe Ruth dinned in the Crown room and frolicked in the waves at the Del’s pristine beaches. It’s a far cry from East San Diego. An area dominated by crack heads, meth freaks, pimps selling women bond slaves and gangsters victimizing all the above.
Last week a patrol officer noticed a car make an illegal U-turn at 3400 Orange. Orange Avenue is ground zero for this criminal chaos. If you sat there for anytime you would see a black and white rolling code 3; a cop sneaking around in the alley with an overcoat to hide his uniform looking to catch a deal in progress; a pimp slapping “his whore” and a businessman from Rancho Santa Fe looking for a wild fling. The officer pulled over the car and immediately noticed two occupants. Both men were in their 20’s. Both wore Arab dress. That in itself is not that unusual for ESD. There are 75 languages spoken in this part of the city. You have Afghani, Pakistani, Iraqi, Yemeni…you name it living and working there.
The cop asked for the driver’s license and registration. The men looked at him with a blank stare. It was unsettling. He again repeated his request now stated as a demand. The driver handed him a passport from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both men were Saudi nationals. Of course the officer remembered many of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudi. Many trained in San Diego. But why are these men here at 3400 Orange, it just didn’t make sense. The last place suspected Al Qaeda operatives would be found is in the ghetto. There is nothing to terrorize but those already terrorized. The officer hit his lapel mic requesting 10-10 cover. Cover is never far away in Mid-City Division. The cover officer rolled up and took a position of advantage on the passenger side of the car. A quick visual sweep and no obvious weapons. The officers communicated with non-verbal hand signals. The passenger officer stood watch stoically and silent.
The men spoke broken English. As they talked, both officers looked for a way in the car. There are only four reasons to lawfully search a car. Any good cop goes through a mental check list and within seconds knows where he stands. The officers noticed some items visible that were disturbing. Foreign visitors with passports from a terror exporting nation. They had no business in this area of the city. A 35mm digital camera, GPS location device were in the front street. Some closed bags in the back seat. Could this be pre-operational terror activity. Are they casing and looking for a location to hit? The officers searched the car and found photos of “high value targets.” The stop now signaled great risk to the citizens of San Diego.
They called for experts in counter terrorism to assist with the stop because “the greater the risk, the greater the need to develop expertise.” Detectives from Criminal Intelligence and FBI responded to the stop. Intense questioning followed. Why are you here? What are you doing? Why the photos of the Zoo, SD skyscrapers, Petco Park and the stadium? Most importantly why are you in East Diego. You just don’t expect to find Al Qaeda and pimps mixing it up.
The Al Qaeda suspects pled their innocence. It was a mistake. They were lost and the GPS device directed them to this location. They did not think this was where they were supposed to be. In fact it made them uncomfortable. Pimps and thugs have a way of doing that. After all they were paying almost $400 a night for the hotel. The hotels in this section of the city rent by the hour. At the most you are going to pay $60 a night. The sergeant on scene called the detectives and agents together. They huddled together discussing the next step. Hey lets search their room. Maybe there are computers or other signs of pre-operational activities. One of the detectives yells out to the suspects of terror… "Hey where are you guys staying?” The driver in his Saudi accent retorted, “The Del Coronado Hotel, 3400 Orange Avenue.” Some blew out a sigh of relief, others snorted out a belly laugh. The Del is located at 3400 Orange Avenue. The agents and detectives stood at 3400 Orange Avenue. Just different cities. The Del is in Coronado and this pimping playground is in San Diego. 15 miles makes a world of difference. The greater the risk, the greater the need to develop expertise. If you are going to drive around SD you need to learn how to work a GPS device.
Our spiritual life is the same but the stakes are higher. Our relationship with God is the risk. It is incumbent upon us to develop spiritual expertise. When I stand before God I will not be able to shift blame to others. I can’t blame it on work; how I grew up; the preacher; teacher or wife. It’s me…and you, alone before God. Here is spiritual expertise. Matthew 12:35-37. Out of the overflow of a man’s heart the mouth speaks. (34) The good man brings out good things of the good stored up in him… (35) Men will have to give an account of the day of judgment for every careless word… (36) For by your words you will be acquitted or condemned. (37)
I want to be positive in my speech, thoughts and actions. Work with me to build our spiritual expertise, so when we stand before God great things flow out of our hearts.
A
Last week a patrol officer noticed a car make an illegal U-turn at 3400 Orange. Orange Avenue is ground zero for this criminal chaos. If you sat there for anytime you would see a black and white rolling code 3; a cop sneaking around in the alley with an overcoat to hide his uniform looking to catch a deal in progress; a pimp slapping “his whore” and a businessman from Rancho Santa Fe looking for a wild fling. The officer pulled over the car and immediately noticed two occupants. Both men were in their 20’s. Both wore Arab dress. That in itself is not that unusual for ESD. There are 75 languages spoken in this part of the city. You have Afghani, Pakistani, Iraqi, Yemeni…you name it living and working there.
The cop asked for the driver’s license and registration. The men looked at him with a blank stare. It was unsettling. He again repeated his request now stated as a demand. The driver handed him a passport from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both men were Saudi nationals. Of course the officer remembered many of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudi. Many trained in San Diego. But why are these men here at 3400 Orange, it just didn’t make sense. The last place suspected Al Qaeda operatives would be found is in the ghetto. There is nothing to terrorize but those already terrorized. The officer hit his lapel mic requesting 10-10 cover. Cover is never far away in Mid-City Division. The cover officer rolled up and took a position of advantage on the passenger side of the car. A quick visual sweep and no obvious weapons. The officers communicated with non-verbal hand signals. The passenger officer stood watch stoically and silent.
The men spoke broken English. As they talked, both officers looked for a way in the car. There are only four reasons to lawfully search a car. Any good cop goes through a mental check list and within seconds knows where he stands. The officers noticed some items visible that were disturbing. Foreign visitors with passports from a terror exporting nation. They had no business in this area of the city. A 35mm digital camera, GPS location device were in the front street. Some closed bags in the back seat. Could this be pre-operational terror activity. Are they casing and looking for a location to hit? The officers searched the car and found photos of “high value targets.” The stop now signaled great risk to the citizens of San Diego.
They called for experts in counter terrorism to assist with the stop because “the greater the risk, the greater the need to develop expertise.” Detectives from Criminal Intelligence and FBI responded to the stop. Intense questioning followed. Why are you here? What are you doing? Why the photos of the Zoo, SD skyscrapers, Petco Park and the stadium? Most importantly why are you in East Diego. You just don’t expect to find Al Qaeda and pimps mixing it up.
The Al Qaeda suspects pled their innocence. It was a mistake. They were lost and the GPS device directed them to this location. They did not think this was where they were supposed to be. In fact it made them uncomfortable. Pimps and thugs have a way of doing that. After all they were paying almost $400 a night for the hotel. The hotels in this section of the city rent by the hour. At the most you are going to pay $60 a night. The sergeant on scene called the detectives and agents together. They huddled together discussing the next step. Hey lets search their room. Maybe there are computers or other signs of pre-operational activities. One of the detectives yells out to the suspects of terror… "Hey where are you guys staying?” The driver in his Saudi accent retorted, “The Del Coronado Hotel, 3400 Orange Avenue.” Some blew out a sigh of relief, others snorted out a belly laugh. The Del is located at 3400 Orange Avenue. The agents and detectives stood at 3400 Orange Avenue. Just different cities. The Del is in Coronado and this pimping playground is in San Diego. 15 miles makes a world of difference. The greater the risk, the greater the need to develop expertise. If you are going to drive around SD you need to learn how to work a GPS device.
Our spiritual life is the same but the stakes are higher. Our relationship with God is the risk. It is incumbent upon us to develop spiritual expertise. When I stand before God I will not be able to shift blame to others. I can’t blame it on work; how I grew up; the preacher; teacher or wife. It’s me…and you, alone before God. Here is spiritual expertise. Matthew 12:35-37. Out of the overflow of a man’s heart the mouth speaks. (34) The good man brings out good things of the good stored up in him… (35) Men will have to give an account of the day of judgment for every careless word… (36) For by your words you will be acquitted or condemned. (37)
I want to be positive in my speech, thoughts and actions. Work with me to build our spiritual expertise, so when we stand before God great things flow out of our hearts.
A
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