Mike Flannery On Duty and Off

At the Westcote express office, a delivery problem can turn into a battle over words and rules. Mike Flannery manages parcels, customers and a teasing helper named Timmy in these three comic short stories by Ellis Parker Butler. The opening tale begins with an Angora cat that arrives dead. Its owner refuses delivery, while the company's distant clerks send instructions that show how thoroughly they have misunderstood Flannery's letter.

Another episode brings simplified spelling into the office. Flannery consults an official list while writing letters, then challenges a customer's parcel because its address uses spellings the company has replaced. His determination to follow orders makes routine business increasingly awkward. Dialect dialogue, impatient exchanges and elaborate explanations give the stories their comic rhythm. Readers interested in workplace humor can find a recognizable struggle between practical judgment and instructions handed down from above.