Do It Alone

Successful identity changers keep their plans to themselves. Further, they rarely take anyone with them when they go. Regardless of what you read in the tabloids, it is very unusual for a man to take his mistress with him into his new life. Of course, women often run off with men and change their names, whether they get married or not. But this does not constitute a disappearance and identity change in the context of this book. It is very difficult for a person to successfully change identities alone. It is damn near impossible to do it in tandem.

Children pose a somewhat different problem. Every now and then the mass media have a heyday with the case of a father who "kidnaps" his own children, removing them from the lawful custody of their mother and the jurisdiction of the local courts. While this makes for entertaining reading, it is highly difficult for a father to place beyond-school-starting-age children in a school for the first time without leaving a paper trail back to their original homes and identities.

Money

Although many disappearees leave with little or no money in their pockets, this is most emphatically doing it the hard way. A financial cushion is a great boon to the lamster. A new identity is a very fragile and delicate thing while it is being established. Like any kind of lie, it can be quickly unraveled if it isn't well thought out. A cash reserve allows a little breathing spell in which to get used to the new identity.

If a man is flat broke when he disappears he is going to face some serious hurdles. Where will he live? If he turns to friends or relatives he risks being caught and leaving an easy trail by which to find him. If he sleeps in boxcars and under bridges he greatly increases his chances of an undesirable run-in with the law. How will he get money? He may have a difficult time finding a job if he hasn't been able to document his new identity. Even if he has documentation, careful scrutiny by a personnel department can lead to disaster for someone who hasn't built confidence in his new identity. And if he turns to crime to survive, we're back to the police again.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 861