Altering a photo ID card is a bad idea and illegal

Dr. Wallace: I’m friends with a group of girls, and we’re all 17 years of age at this time. There are various places we would like to go hang out, especially a few clubs, but you have to be 18 years of age or older to enter some of them.

We were discussing fake identification cards and things of this nature at one of the girl’s parents’ house, and her father overheard us. He came into the room and told us that back in his day he and his friends would tell the Department of Motor Vehicles that they lost their ID card or driver’s license. This would cause a new one to be issued, and once they receive the second one, they would cut out some of the numbers and paste them over the original license. They still had to create the effect of being 18 years old or 21 years old, depending upon what their goal was.

One of my other girlfriends loved this story and now thinks that we should all try to get duplicate identification cards, and then we could all sit in a room and cut out whatever pieces we need and trade them back and forth to arrange an ID card to make us look like we were 18 years of age.

Do you think this can still work here in 2023?

— I Need to Look 18, via email

I need to look 18: Not only do I think it’s not possible in this day and age, I think it’s a terrible idea to even contemplate. First of all, the technology has changed greatly, and there are holograms and other aspects of passports, driver’s licenses and ID cards that you won’t even be aware of and cannot duplicate.

And if you alter an ID card, it’s a crime to boot. Your friend’s father may have interesting stories to hear about his experiences back in the 1970s or 1980s, but trust me, that ship has sailed.

Enjoy your free time at other venues, and create a “countdown calendar” with everyone’s name on it so that you’ll all know exactly when everyone in your group will legally be 18. Then, go to that club together legally and celebrate the occasion responsibly.

Should I invite estranged father to graduation?

Dr. Wallace: I’ll graduate high school at the end of the school year and I’m already thinking about my father. The last thing I heard about him was that he was living over 1,000 miles away in another state, and then he got into trouble and spent a few years in prison.

I don’t even know if he’s out of jail or not at this time. Part of me would want to contact him to see if he would come to my ceremony, but another part of me thinks I should just leave things be when it comes to him. He has not been in touch with me for almost eight years now anyhow.

The strange thing is, my mother never speaks poorly of him, even though he left her and has made a lot of mistakes in his life. She always talks about him in a respectful tone, but she does say that he made a lot of mistakes and he’s paying for them now. My mom has moved on as she’s had the same steady boyfriend now for three years, and I can see why she likes him, because I have to admit he’s a great guy.

I do have several months to figure all of this out, and something in the back of my mind tells me that I’m going to be waffling back and forth on this the entire school year. Do you have any suggestions for me?

— A High School Senior, via email

A high school senior: I advise you to think about it occasionally, but not to dwell on it every day or every week if you can avoid doing so.

I feel your mother would be the perfect person to sit down and discuss this with, especially given her attitude about him, and the respectful tone she has kept whenever his name comes up. Tell her openly and honestly how you feel, and encourage her to go into an in-depth conversation with you about this matter.

The two of you could discuss the pros and cons of trying to reach out to him or locating him to see if he may want to attend the ceremony if he’s even able to do so as a free man these days. Eight years is a long time to be absent from a child’s life, but indeed, a high school graduation ceremony is a major accomplishment and rite of passage that marks a symbolic step from childhood into adulthood. I trust that your mother’s guidance can help you come to a decision you can be at peace with when spring comes around.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@ thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators. com.