How do you know that Santa Claus isn't (or wasn't) real?

In response to last week’s question,  “How do you know that Santa Claus isn't (or wasn't) real?”, my writing and sailing friend Rich, neighbor Al and Carolyn, the admiral, all replied “What are you saying, Santa is not real?”  My friend Blair added, “Didn’t you ever watch Miracle on 34th Street?! “  My cousin Wes jumped in, “What are you talking about? I am still getting presents from Santa Claus. What are you missing out on?” And then my social business co-chair Andy validated this, “I'm sure the people at The Sun have done their fact checking. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus ) ”

My colleague Kelly declared, “Santa Claus IS real and is currently serving as President.”

My dad’s beach buddy Bob observed, “Because there weren't any footsteps in the snow on my roof.  Maybe it is because there isn't any chimney.  Hmmm  no snow either....”  My former colleague Bruce explained, “That's easy... I see his secret identity every day in the mirror....” 

My cycling friend Ted counted, “Let's look at this from an ethical and logical point of view. We always strive to teach our children to always be truthful, yet every year we tell them that some big fat guy in a red suit comes down from the North Pole in a flying sled (pulled by areodynamically incompetent ungulates none the less!!) and goes down the chimney of EVERY house on planet Earth in less than 12 hours!! Without any help from Garmin! Some geeky guy once calculated Santa's ground speed would have to be something like 5x the speed of light. Obviously, Einstein had a problem with the theory of ‘Santativity’.”

And then my friend Chris put everything in to perspective.   Chris shared, “I know that Santa Claus is real because I can see it in the joy and wonderment of every child on Christmas Eve. I can see it in the eyes of childhood as clearly as you see the sun or clouds. There is no doubt in my mind that he is real for I see it all year in the giving of time, effort and devotion from even the poorest of us all, to their fellow man. Santa Claus is real because love, friendship and kindness are real. It would be a weary and sad world if Santa Claus wasn't real and I dare not think of a place so horrible. Santa Claus is real I tell you and he will always remain so, as long as there are childish whims, imagination and love in this world.”

And to this, my sailing and ceviché making friend Maria wrote, “Happy, merry holidays and prospero ano Nuevo!”

Please share your thoughts about "things that make you go 'Hmmm' “:

What New Year’s resolution will you not keep?

Life  is too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive  quickly.

Hal

Wishing you and your family a year of health, wealth and happiness.  Live everyday to its fullest; we’re counting on you.   My family friend Fred added, “I love your final word about kissing slowly (as the years go on, you may have to edit it to “kiss without drooling”.

Shared with respect and love for George Carlin, Steven Wright and  Demetri Martin.