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A behind-the- scenes look at the Antler Airborne Academy It was by far the most treacherous of all of the writing assignments of my career. From the moment I stepped off the helicopter and watched it take off with out me, I started having second thoughts about my decision to travel to the Arctic Circle — the top of the world — where average winter time temperatures are a frigid minus 40 de grees Fahrenheit. But I felt compelled to do the story — and honored. I had been hand-picked by Santa SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND IMV Call 537-3131 (or delivery! By Amber Lanier Nagle Claus himself to write an exclusive expose about the Antler Airborne Academy, the top-secret reindeer training facil ity with the long list of impressive alumni in cluding Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and yes, even the most famous reindeer of all, Rudolph, who leads the herd with his flashing red nose. No journalist had ever been invited onto the campus be fore, but in the wake of several scandals plagu ing the sport of horse racing, the North Pole communication team wanted to be proactive and reassure the public that Santa's reindeer are very well cared for. So they invited me to visit (all expenses paid by the fat man) and see for myself, and so I went. The North Pole is what you might imag ine — a frozen mi rage of white on white. Layered in parka-like clothing and insulated rubber boots, I trekked half a mile through the vast snow-covered can dy cane forest and an other half mile across peppermint glaciers, the snow crunching un derfoot and the jingle- jangle of distant sleigh bells being carried by the wind. Finally, I made it to Santa's workshop. The door swung open and exposed hun dreds of elves in pointy hats scurrying around work her tiny hand in my own and shook it gently. "Hi, I'm Annika,"she said in a high-pitched elf voice. "I'm Santa's Communication Direc tor. Thank you so much for coming. We've been waiting for you to visit. Please follow me." Annika turned on a y* bench- y es filled with toys galore in all stages of produc tion. Seconds later, a wee little elf with bright red hair and a clipboard stepped forward and extended her hand up ward toward me. I took dime and led the way through a maze of toys and work spaces, her short legs moving briskly, and her high heels clicking on the wooden flooring with each step. "The Academy is this way, just behind the workshop,"she said. We passed Santa's office and Mrs. Claus' kitchen. Then I saw a break room where a handful of elves huddled at tiny tables eating pimento cheese sand wiches, drinking hot chocolate from paper cups and looking down at their cell phones. Fi nally, in the rear of the building, Annika flung open the back door re vealing more Tundra like terrain, an expan sive red barn, and a wide open area about the size of four football fields enclosed by tall fencing like that of a state peni tentiary, but without the razor wire at the top. "Here we are," said Annika, twirling around with her arms skyward. "Welcome to the Ant ler Airborne Academy — AAA, for short. This is the secret reindeer Please see Hoofin’ It page 2A