The Naïve Skeptic

As a child I was skeptic. I needed tons of proof. I figured if the tooth fairy is a real person then she must have a last name. While visiting the bathroom I overheard two boys talking about her existence. I confessed my belief and didn't hold a doubt in my mind that she was a phony; I just needed proof other than the cash in my pocket.
During her next visit I had a letter prepared. I asked her to autograph her full name. The following morning there was a contract waiting that was signed, ‘Tooth Fairy’, Fairy being her last name. I was expecting something a little more elaborate, but she had already left the cash and that was a done deal.
I wanted to prove that she traveled all around the world, so the following opportunity I wrote another letter asking if she would leave money from a foreign country. In the morning, under my pillow was a Spanish bill. I found it suspicious since my parents had once taken a trip to Mexico, but this bill wasn't anything I could recall seeing in my mother's scrapbook. It was good enough for me.

My grandmother had given me an address to write to Santa Clause. Her explanation as to why it was addressed to her hometown was that her post office was one of the locations that would collect his letters. From that point the letters would be placed in a helicopter and flown directly to the North Pole (as if there would be enough fuel for the engine to fly from Kresgeville, PA).
I had written a few letters here and there and with successful responses. Knowing this system was legit I developed the brilliant idea to share this information with my first grade class. Mrs. Birchiellie loved the idea and wrote the address largely on the board. That day we spent the afternoon writing letters to Santa, placed them into a large yellow package, and sent them off.
My grandfather was a sign painter. Before he retired he rented a P.O. box at the post office for his business. I was told years later that when my Grandmother was checking the mailbox she had received a packaged filled with letters addressed to Santa's Workshop. She took the role of Santa's helper and responded to each letter appropriately, along with a message letting each person know that Santa was very busy making toys for Christmas and would be unable to write any more letters.