The Day I Stepped Off The Kiddie Train

As with any other red blooded kid I wholeheartedly believed in all the fairytale characters I grew up with...Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Toothfairy, Elves, Reindeer, etc. I always imagined that they were all kind of members of the same club...I don't know. Like a 'Justice League' sort of thing. In Linny Land they would all be gathered around a table discussing presents for all the little children when an alarm would sound and a red police light would flash around the room. A large television screen would suddenly appear, showing the face of a sleeping boy or girl and you'd hear, "Toothfairy, 1859 Debelle St., Ga, USA. Little Tommy Smith has lost a tooth. I repeat, little Tommy Smith has lost a tooth. Be advised." The Toothfairy would then flitter off to take care of business.

Well, there was one year when I lost a tooth and I ever so carfully put it in an envelope labled "Toothfairy" and placed it securely under my pillow. When I awoke the next day I excitedly snatched up my pillow expecting to find the tooth gone and a dollar bill in it's place. What did I find instead? My tooth. Completely distraught I carried the envelope to my mother who assured me that the Toothfairy hadn't forgotten me. She said the problem was that she had forgotten to crack my window before I went to bed so when the Toothfairy came, she hadn't been able to get in. That night, I watched as my mother cracked the window and then I tucked the envelope under my pillow. This time I woke up and was ecstatic to find a crisp dollar bill on my pillow. All was well again in Linny Land.

Until...a few weeks later. I had dragged a chair over and was searching through one of the kitchen cabinets (I can't remember what I was looking for) when I spotted my Toothfairy envelope. I remember that moment very clearly. Eye filled with tears. That is the day I realized that fairytales were just that....fairytales.