Mike picked me up at the bus station and this time there were no unexpected surprises by the police to ruin the day. Once back at Mike’s place, we immediately began making plans for the mission to paradise. Mike was a welder who made exotic furniture out of metal and he had a big order to fill before we could go. He figured it would take about a month to complete then he would be free to join me. That was perfect for me as it would give me a chance to get up to my cousin’s place for a visit and also enjoy Chicago one last time. I spent the first couple of days glued to the couch smoking bongs and watching the interaction between the 4 cats Mike and Dennis ( Mike’s room-mate ) had. It made me think about the cat I had left behind when I escaped, I felt bad that I had to leave him behind and wondered what kind of life he had now, I could only hope it was still good. By the fourth day I was feeling like a lazy lump so I made a plan to go see my cousin up north. John lived just up the lake about 40 minutes on the train and it was only a couple of bucks each way. John picked me up at the station and we headed back to his place for a big joint before his family got home. He told me that he had a friend who worked on I.D.’s and wanted to see the one I had gotten. I showed it to him and he was not impressed, he told me that it was not very convincing and that hopefully his friend could help. When his friend took one look at it, he laughed and handed it back saying that it was far too beaten up for him to fix and that the only thing I could do was glue my picture in and pray. That was not very reassuring to hear but it seemed that I had no choice so I superglue my picture into the passport and it was terrible. The plastic covering on the passport had bubbled and you had to press down on the bubble just to see the picture, I was less than confident for sure but this would have to do. I thanked John for trying and headed back to Chicago.
The nervous energy was almost unbearable but thankfully I had Mike’s bike to wear it off with. The spring had come early and riding around Chi-town was a therapeutic endeavor, I spent most of the time riding the lakefront, it was flat, easy, and it had the most spectacular views I could ask for. I found myself wishing I could just stay there in Chicago, I knew that was impossible but that didn’t stop me from wishing. Sometime in the second week, we decide it’s time to get the tickets. Mike says he can order them by phone with a credit card and he proceeds to do so. We would get two round trip tickets to Paris and then take a train to Amsterdam. Round trip tickets were only marginally higher and I felt it would be less suspicious looking if we both had round trip tickets. He was able to find a deal for 270 dollars and we locked it in, I now had three weeks until my biggest escape attempt yet. I spent the next few days calling trusted friends to tell them my plans, I remember when I was talking to my buddy John out in Colorado and telling him the details, I mentioned that I was not very confident about the passport and that my cousin’s friend had told me to find a better one if I could, then John tells me that he has one that is in perfect condition, he did not need it for anything and that I could have it. This was an unexpected though pleasant development indeed, one that might make the difference between living in a cage or living in the ganja capital of the world. There was no hesitation when I said yes and he agreed to overnight it to me in Chicago. Sure enough the next day it showed up and it was just as he said, perfect!
I once again jumped on the train and headed back to my cousin’s place in Kenosha. He shared my excitement when he saw the passport, he said that it would be no problem for his friend and we took it over there to make it mine. His friend said it would take a couple of days and to come back then. This was great for me as it gave me one last chance to hang out with my favorite cuz and play in a pool tournament that was going on in his bar. I won the pool tourney to put some extra scratch in my pocket and hanging out with John and his family was very special. It passed far too quickly as most good times do and before I knew it we were back at his friend’s place to pick up my new passport. It was perfect! My picture was laminated in and there was not a blemish on it, no reason for anyone to suspect a thing. I was very happy and my confidence was brimming over the top, I knew this would work and my worries all melted away. I spent one more night in Kenosha hanging out with John, Pete and another cousin Gina and her boyfriend Tim, we had a great night reminiscing about all the times we had shared. We all knew this might be the last time we were together for a long time to come so we made it a memorable night. The next morning John dropped me off at the train station and we said our final goodbyes, words alone could not express the gratitude I felt towards him so I grabbed him and gave him a big hug knowing this might be the last time I ever see him.
Once back in Chicago I was on cloud nine, I felt nothing could stop me now. I spent the week-end playing in pool tournaments I had found at a few different pool halls. I played well earning enough to pay off Mike for my ticket and even adding a bit to my own bankroll. When Monday morning rolled around I made the call to the airline to change the name on the ticket, since it had been ordered over the phone I thought it would only be a formality to change it. Boy was I wrong! I told them that I (Greg) had a death in the family and could not go but my friend (John) would be willing to take my place. They told me FAA rules state that once a ticket is ordered then it must stay in that person’s name and there were no exceptions. They said that I could postpone the trip for up to 6 months but that would be my only option and if my friend ‘John’ wanted to go, then he would have to purchase another ticket. I couldn’t believe it, this was a time before the TSA or no fly lists and the ticket had been ordered by phone but somehow for security reasons, it could not be changed. I expressed my feelings of anger and disbelief demanding a supervisor but she just told me the same thing. I felt like screaming at them until my voice was gone but kept somewhat composed and told them I would have to think about it. I could feel the anger slowly turning to anxiety as I contemplated my options. I was planning on having around 500 dollars to roll into Europe with and spending over half of that on another ticket would give me very little to get started with once I got there. On the other hand, I could try to make it with the original passport, but I was not very confident it would even work. I wrestled with the decision for the next few days weighing the pros and cons of each. I finally decided to try the original plan and ensure that if I make it, I would have some money in my pocket. I now had one week to shake the uneasy feelings and put on the best performance of my life.
With possibly my final week-end in the States, I tried to get my parents to come down to Chicago for a night. Unfortunately with my past unreliable actions, they felt less than confident I would even show up and decided against it. I think they felt that my plan would not work and that they would visit me in the jail cell real soon. I also called my best bud Scotty to see if he might want to come down for a night. He was much more receptive and said yes without hesitation and we made a plan for one more big blow-out on Saturday night. When he rolled up on Saturday afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had brought Brian and his girlfriend Colleen along with. Two people I had been friends with since High School and who were no strangers to partying hard. When Scott pulled out a big bag of party favors, I knew this would be a night for the record books.
A Continuing Story About Life On The Run