Jim Ed Bull is a letter carrier with the United States Postal Service. He is 72 years old, but that is not his claim to fame. Jim has the longest postal route in America: 187.6 miles (301.8 kilometers) across some of the loneliest territory in the country. Bloomberg reports on his fascinating story:

Into the mailbox goes the weekly Southwest Oklahoma Shopper and a letter from Stockmans Bank, and slam, the door shuts tight. Snap-and-slam wasn’t always the soundtrack of Bull’s workday. He was a high school principal, coach and referee who retired in the late ’90s only to come back to a payroll. Now he’s one of 7.2 million Americans who were 65 and over and employed last year, a 67 percent jump from 10 years before.

They work longer hours and earn more than they did a decade ago. Fifty-eight percent are full-time compared to 52 percent in 2002, and their median weekly pay has gone up to $825 from $502. In the second quarter, government data show, Bull and his peers made $49 more a week than all workers 16 and older.

This was the most surprising part of the piece: USPS doesn’t supply rural drivers with vehicles. So Mr. Bull uses his own truck:

The Postal Service doesn’t supply rural carriers with vehicles, and Bull eschews modifications to his truck or special equipment. Instead, he sits between the two front seats, his body in the middle of the cab. His left hand holds the steering wheel, his left foot operates the gas and brake, and his long right arm inserts the mail.

Amazing.