Edgar Tum

Edgar handles listener mail out of a windowless room in the basement with a coffee can of rubber bands and a date stamp he keeps inked. He sorts by region, then by tone, then by which of the letters arrived in envelopes the post office would recognize. A working majority come from the usual states with the usual stamps. The rest carry postage from places that do not issue stamps, return addresses that are coordinates, requests, confessions, and the occasional reply to a letter the station has not sent yet. Edgar answers every one in kind, matching the postage, because it is rude not to, and the replies leave the building and do not come back marked undeliverable. He has worked the mailroom longer than the building has stood in any one spot. He likes the quiet and takes his break at three.