At 3:45 a.m., Maria Paredes (senior-Spanish) felt like a kid in a toy store.

Armed with a twirling stick, a stick and catch game, a dart gun set, a make your own cootie-catcher kit and silly putty, Paredes was prepared for the final 15 hours of the Interfraternity Council/Panhellic Dance Marathon.

"From now until Thon's over, I won't be bored," Paredes said.

The toys, which she received from her friends on the Club Cross Country Team and her sorority, Sigma Kappa, were a part of the legendary dancer mail call. "I wasn't expecting so much positive messages," she said.

Mail call began at 3:30 a.m. yesterday morning with the classic invocation "Speedy Delivery!" by Mr. McFeely, the postman from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Mr. McFeely gave out autographed pictures to student admirers later.

"I'm really impressed with the caliber of the students," he said. "It's been a lot of fun."

This was Mr. McFeely's sixth Thon. He said he plans to come back next year.

Frank Kasper (junior-elementary education) said he received many more letters than expected, including some from distant relatives.

Luis Candia (junior-psychology), one of two dancers from Penn State Lehigh Valley, said getting letters helped put the Thon experience into perspective.

"I feel like it's going to be a piece of cake the rest of the way through," he said.

Earlier in the evening, the kids of Thon received a mail call of their own. Morale team members wearing Blue's Clues gear brought two inflatable swimming pools filled with Thon T-shirts to the stage as well as bins of mail packages, including bundles of letters, squirt guns, jewelry and official Orange Bowl footballs.

The event ushered in feelings of excitement and gratitude.

"The kids seem like they have a lot of fun on stage, this is one of their favorite things," Jennifer Curry, a morale team member, said.

Diagnosed with leukemia in October 2001, 9-year-old Charlie Karchner and his family enjoyed their fifth Thon experience since they discovered Charlie had cancer.

Charlie's mom, Cheryl, was appreciative of all of the hard work put on by the students in order to alleviate the pain brought on by this experience.

"[Thon] takes all the bad out of the experience," Cheryl said.

When asked about his favorite gift, Charlie and his 10-year-old sister Kayla said they liked everything.

"It is just so exciting to see how many people are here," Kayla said.

Although Kayla is healthy, she too was able to enjoy the mail call from the family's sponsors, Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Gamma Delta.

The two greek organizations, who have sponsored Kayla and Charlie for the past four years, keep in touch with the kids throughout the year, remembering birthdays and holidays outside of the Thon season.

"I don't think there hasn't been a time that these kids have forgotten an event," said Karchner. "They stay in touch with us throughout the year."