Line up your ducks!
John LeCarre wrote some great books about George Smiley, “Master Spy”. Man that Cold War stuff was great. I need to read them again! There are lots of plot twists- like riding a roller coaster!
Smiley, is an aging British Intelligence agent. He didn’t get the girls like James Bond though. In the miniseries’, he’s played by Alec Guiness, if that helps you visualize him. In one book, Smiley is looking for the key to catch a bad guy. Back in the old days before computers, everything got archived and stuck in file cabinets, boxes, etc. He has a fleeting memory but can’t find the confirmation of his suspicions.
Then he decides, “Time to go see Mildred” (I’m pretty sure that was her name) This was an older retired lady. She sounded a bit off her rocker-like a tea cup and kitty cat sort of gal. But she worked in Intelligence because she had a photographic memory. Smiley’s attitude seemed to be, if it exists, Mildred will know where to find it. He went and had tea with her her and she was like, “oh yes, 1949, Sector 31-B, Cabinet 17, File number #56″ I read this, and I was like “ME! ME! I want to be Mildred!”
Seriously, if you want somebody to look for something, lost paperwork, an old favorite perfume- let me at it; I love doing stuff like that!
I had a point somewhere: I was talking about records! Things are getting stickier in the realm of personal information. Everybody has a birth certificate, new babies apply for Social Security numbers. But illegal aliens buy fake ID’s and it’s making the powers that be, necessarily, be meticulous about vital records.
A while back, I pulled my birth certificate out of the important paper box. I realized that all it was, was an old form where my name, birthdate, etc had been typed in. Nothing “official” like a registrar # or a seal. I realized that Social Security probably wouldn’t take this when the day comes I try to apply for my retirement benefits! So I wrote to the county in California where I was born, paid about $30 and got a certified birth certificate.
I urge you to do likewise. When Pyrate and I got married, we got a nice certificate looking thing from the minister. But it’s not the marriage license. Again with the Social Security! So I paid money and got us an official copy.
Sometimes families have informal arrangements. Say your dad died when you were little. Your loving stepfather raised you as his own. You might have even started school, even graduated high school and got a driver’s license with his last name. But the actual adoption never happened. The way things are now, it might “get ya” down the road. What if he left you something in his will, but his child from his first marriage contests this? Or you apply for a passport and can’t explain why the names on your birth certificate and your driver’s license aren’t the same. I’ll give you an example- the late former President Gerald Ford, was born and named Leslie King. His parents divorced, and he was renamed for his stepfather- try to establish that without paperwork! You might need to see a lawyer and have your name changed. There is so much identity fraud now, that the regulations for what is considered an acceptable record has narrowed.
Anyhow, look over your “personal important stuff” and make sure it looks right. Might save you a lot of hassle a few years from now!
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May 11th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
I ran into that back in the 80’s when I went to get my passport. I had been adopted and a copy of my birth certificate had been changed but the original had not. Boy, what a mess. It took forever to get it straightened out.