A childhood belief about father christmas

I was an army brat, and believed my mother when she told us that all the
"extra" Santas were his "helpers". How else could the newsman announce Santa's departure from the North Pole right after I'd seen him waving from a helicopter on the military base AND ringing the bell for the Salvation army kettle (in several locations I might add). I was perplexed as to how you could tell who the real one was. My mother told me that you could never be sure, so I'd better be nice to them all....

Since we moved every year and even lived in Germany for awhile, my mother was forced to be very creative in explaining the different customs and Christmas quirks wherever we lived. I don't kow exactly when I outgrew my belief, I guess it all just strained my credibility too much. But the highlight of my life was singing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer while sitting on Santa's knee in the crowded town hall for Ogden, Kansas when I was 9. My friends excitedly told me the next day that I'd been on the radio! With Santa no less. I was quite a hero with my crowd for a while, especially since I had recieved an extra large "special" stocking stuffed with toys and candy from him for my song.