Go Go Downtown Ranger!
Um, I locked my keys in my car, after parking it in front of the capitol. I ran up to the trooper that spends 12 hours a day sitting in front of the state house to ask for a Slim Jim, but he didn't have one. What he DID have, was a number to the "Austin Downtown Rangers". I had never heard of this secret group, but they help people who are locked out of their cars, for FREE!!!
When two rangers showed up a mere ninety seconds after I called, I peppered them with questions. "Is unlocking people's cars your primary function?" "How many coat hangers did you bring?" "Is this for real?"
Turns out, they're part of the Austin PD, but kind of like junior varsity police. The Rangers only work downtown, and their primary function is to enforce ordinances the real police are too busy to be bothered with (i.e. open container laws, littering).
But, they help a lot of people who lock their keys in their cars. More than 100 idiots a week, in fact.
By the DMAs
1.New York
Protz
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Jayna
3.Chicago
Jason
5.Dallas-Fort Worth
Dan
Jimmie
Seymour
Wongton
6.San Francisco
Hasser
7.Boston
Channing
Jonathan
Josh
10.Houston
Lil' Lost Robot
Matty
12.Phoenix
Erica
14.Seattle-Tacoma
Thomas
34.Cincinnati
Jay
36.Greenville-Spartanburg
Brad
Cinlach
Grayson
Michelle
Sappy Chick
47.Jacksonville
Garvin
49.Austin
Political Junkie
73.Toledo
Maureen
79.Columbia, SC
Doug
Will's Ladies
137.Columbia-Jefferson City
Wohleber
141.Beaumont-Port Arthur
Mark Hancock
150.Anchorage
Matthew
Foreign Bureaus
Jason (Hong Kong)
1.New York
Protz
2.Los Angeles (but traveling)
Jayna
3.Chicago
Jason
5.Dallas-Fort Worth
Dan
Jimmie
Seymour
Wongton
6.San Francisco
Hasser
7.Boston
Channing
Jonathan
Josh
10.Houston
Lil' Lost Robot
Matty
12.Phoenix
Erica
14.Seattle-Tacoma
Thomas
34.Cincinnati
Jay
36.Greenville-Spartanburg
Brad
Cinlach
Grayson
Michelle
Sappy Chick
47.Jacksonville
Garvin
49.Austin
Political Junkie
73.Toledo
Maureen
79.Columbia, SC
Doug
Will's Ladies
137.Columbia-Jefferson City
Wohleber
141.Beaumont-Port Arthur
Mark Hancock
150.Anchorage
Matthew
Foreign Bureaus
Jason (Hong Kong)
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