A BlackBerried e-mail to the rescue

Among the most common sights on Capitol Hill are congressional aides, lobbyists and reporters, heads tilted down as they thumb-scroll through the e-mails on their BlackBerrys or frenetically thumb-type messages.

Obviously, the wondrous and devilish devices are not confined to the nation's political capital. It wouldn't surprise anyone, however, if the little devices were first called "crackberries" in D.C. because of the early addiction folks had to them.

But after reading a story on Politico.com, we're feeling less inclined to poke fun at the capital's BlackBerry fetish. It turns out a BlackBerry can double as a sort of OnStar service to summon help in a time of need.

Herman Wang, Washington reporter for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, was an apparent victim of a terrifying home invasion at his house on Capitol Hill.  The bad guy bound and gagged him, actually stuck a sock in his mouth. So that's not just a saying.

Before the bandit left with Wang's cellphone and laptop, he indicated an accomplice was on the way.  Wang was able to get the cords off his hands and thought, who would have a BlackBerry always handy?  A Capitol Hill staffer, of course.

By using his wife's computer, which the thug hadn't taken, he e-mailed an SOS to Lee Pitts, who is press secretary to Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

Pitts must be one of those congressional aides who's constantly reading his BlackBerry.  He read Wang's note within a minute and immediately called 911. The police arrived within minutes.

The moral of this story, of course, is to keep those BlackBerrys charged, if not for yourself then for a reporter you don't know from some newspaper in Tennessee.

-- Frank James

Frank James writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune Washington Bureau.