from a letter found in a flea market bin

“Washington” wired Mr. Vance Sailor,
“instructed” him to tell her
that her last day would be Dec. 20, 1934,
but she would get “a leave of absence with full pay.”

Or so the cleanly typed paragraphs on FDIC stationary say.

The margins on the pages are straight, no errant ink stains,
and the “V” in Mr. Sailor’s signature climbs the page like a
vine, looping over the “very” in “very truly yours.”

Mr. Sailor wrote his “regret.” Lauding
her “loyal and conscientious” service, he “hoped”
to have the “opportunity” of “expressing”
his “appreciation” before she left,
which is the problem with letters typed so cleanly
so many decades ago: If he did, we will never know.