Your Jail List

December 11, 2025

’ve been asking people I meet a question that seems relevant these days: Who is on your jail list? By that, I mean let’s say you’re minding your own business and find yourself arrested for some reason, and somehow you phone was lost or confiscated. Who can you call to come bail you out? This has other uses, like what if you just plain lose your phone? Having some numbers ready to memory could be rather helpful in a jam.

Where these folks are is relevant - your mom in another state isn’t necessarily going to be able to help you in an immediate jam. Make sure some of your memorized numbers are people who are local. I have about half a dozen of my close friends memorized. Back before cel phones, we all had lots of phone numbers memorized and carried around the numbers in forms that weren’t subject to battery loss.

True story: When this idea occurred to me, I started asking my (then) partner what my phone number was every now and then. After a while, she could rattle it off to me.

One day she takes a bus into the city and gets her purse stolen - keys, wallet, phone, all the things gone. Someone hooked her up with some busfare and she was able to call me at work. I couldn’t help her directly, but I had the phone number of someone who could meet her when she got back and bring her home.
This was in January so walking in the dark wasn’t a good idea.

I’ve been passing this idea around quite a bit in the last year. People are getting arresed for all kinds of stupid reasons. I suggest you memorize some phone numbers and pass the word on.

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