Here's an aside - something that means something to me but doesn't necessarily fit nice and neatly into the context of the overall story, although some people may enjoy this as being completely relevant while others may not.
In 1967 I toured the radio station at Osage Beach. That same year I set up my pretend studio in my bedroom so I could emulate some of the great personalities I had been listening to in St. Louis. A key component of my studio was the record player. I could play a hit, banter on about something funny, topical or informative while I changed records and then play another hit with no "dead air". I saved up some money and bought quite a few 45's on a regular basis that were popular hits of the time on KXOK.
But I digress, here's the aside: the record player was a Christmas gift in 1961 when I was 5. On Christmas morning I unwrapped the record player, squealed with joy and then asked my parents where the record player had come from. It was a trick question. 3 days earlier I had seen the record player, not wrapped, on the top shelf in a bedroom closet and didn't realize what it was. Now it's not like I went looking for where my parents hid Christmas gifts - we had a closet with sliding doors and I liked to pretend it was an elevator (like elevators I had seen on TV) and just happened to see the record player way up on the top shelf.
So when I asked my parents where the record player came from, their response was, "Santa Claus". But I knew better than that and told them "Santa didn't bring this record player!". "Sure he did" they responded. And then I said "i know Santa didn't bring it because I saw it in the closet a few days ago." And that's how I found out about Santa Claus. But the record player was still very special. Much like the radio would become in just a few years for me, the record player took me to happy, exotic and far away places with songs and stories that I could only imagine. The record player later piqued my interest in radio - and I suppose it was the first stepping stone on the way to my dream vocation.
And in my bedroom studio, that record player helped build the foundation for seeking a career in radio later on. So finding out about Santa Claus was not a disappointment to me, even at the age of 5, although it was 6 years later until I actually set my goal to pursue a career in radio.
Oh, and how does the Easter Bunny tie in with this? Well, with the unveiling of Santa Claus I realized other things like the Easter Bunny were smoke and mirrors for children too. Not bad for a 5 year old.
