OT:The Texas Rangers...the real ones

The jewelry company that I work for make the badges for the Texas Rangers, and have been for over 30 years. I get to interact with them quite a bit when they come in to pick up their badges. They are intimidating looking when they come in, but are some really nice men & women.

There is one that is about the same height you described, maybe a little taller, that is African American and has some great stories that he shares from time to time, and loves to tell jokes. Extremely nice gentleman, and also very intimidating when you first see him.

 

Had one that I knew growing up in small town West(ish) TX. Great man, and one you did not want to be in his crosshairs.

 

Never met a ranger myself. A girl in my friend HS circle was the daughter of an FBI agent. He was a bit stale but fit the type like I imagined. I assume he had a file on everyone his daughter knew.

 

My life-long best friend was a Special Agent In Charge DEA for about 30 years. His opinion of the Rangers upper echelon is that they are incompetent and corrupt. He feels the same way about the FBI, but the opinion goes deeper into their regular ranks than just the upper command.

 

Concur with the Rangers. I had always considered them to be incorruptible, apolitical, and interested in facts alone.

In my old town, there was a crooked Official. He had various crooked henchmen, some with badges, working for him. His scheme was to pile bureaucracy onto developers, and offer a way to get rid of them "for a small consideration." He did real well. Pay the man, and your project goes forward. Don't pay the man, and you'll be in Permit Hell. Some people got damned fed up with this, and with the reluctance of local Law Enforcement to do a damned thing. Complaints were made that evidently reached the right ears.

One fine day, a Ranger showed up in town. He carefully went about, gathering evidence, talking to the right people, looking at the developments and hearing about what was happening. Then, he left, and everybody held their breath.

Two weeks later, the crooked Official was back in business. It trickled back that he had a friend, too, and that friend spoke to some other people in Austin, and the Rangers let it drop.

I seriously doubt that the Ranger that came to town would have allowed that to happen. He knew without any doubt whatsoever that there was pay-to-play going on. But, he took orders from elsewhere, and he evidently obeyed them.

To the poor schmucks in town who weren't on the take, and did things the right way (that would be 95% of the Town), it was a complete slap in the face.

Screw it.

 

One of my relatives was a Texas Ranger. Never met him but attended his funeral in the late ‘70’s. Was killed in the line of duty.

 

So, Cleburne?

 

The Police Chief and the Chief Investigator in Horseshoe Bay are both retired Rangers. It is a very safe place to live.

 

Ha, a Gunner throwback. West-er about 90 miles.

 

Mayor Othal Brand. McAllen, TX? Biggest crook I ever dealt with. And that’s saying a lot.

 

Nope. A critter closer to Houston.

I do know the Valley is sometimes referred to as The Land of the Not-Quite-Right.

 

From the article...

“Since the inception of the Texas Rangers in 1823, the valiant law enforcement agency has adapted with the times, developing a more modern operation. Today its legacy has grown to one of the most effective investigative law enforcement agencies in the world. When Stephen F. Austin hired ten experienced frontiersmen to "range" over the territory of Texas, there were only approximately 700 people across the area....”

I’m descended from 2 of the 10 original members in the above-referenced group... Captain Abner Kuykendall and his son Captain Gibson Kuykendall (one of Gibson’s brothers was a 3rd member, Robert or William, I can’t remember).

I just named my son after Gibson. It’s his great great great great great grandfather.

 

My great uncle Gus was a Texas Ranger.

 

McRae?

 

That’s him. Him and his buddy Woodrow moved up to Montana to raise cattle after he retired

 

One of the great philosophers of the 19th century

 

I've known several over the years, some mediocre but most are elite. First time I ever met one as a young prosecutor, he was in my (small rural) county kicking rocks on an unsolved murder case from 100 miles away.
We stood outside my office and visited for about 15 minutes, and after 10, I was ready to confess even though I'd never heard of any of 'em. Spent the last 5 minutes of it trying not to look guilty as hell.

 

The greatest. "Uva uvam vivendo varia fit."