When I was a small child I was told that there was a big man in a red suit with a white beard who visited all the houses of good children on Dec. 24 to reward their behavior with toys. One year in early December, while playing in the attic I stumbled upon a bunch of wrapped boxes that looked exactly like those I found under the Christmas tree. Now this was a confusing situation for a small boy. I had no choice but to ask my mother about these boxes. As perceptive as most children are, I wasn’t satisfied with the fabrication of my mother’s reply. Needless to say, I continued my investigation, talking to schoolmates and older siblings until the whole story began to unravel. Eventually it led to the ultimate conclusion that there wasn’t really a Santa Claus in the North Pole, diligently working at this very moment with a large group of elves to produce massive amounts of toys for good children.

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