It certainly was nice of AT&T to send us this check.  But we suspect that in their haste to seize our long-distance trunks, they didn't bother to check whether or not we owned the line in the first place.

As it happens, we don't.  516-751-9970 is a NYNEX test number.  It's always busy.  It's a busy signal test.  And we doubt they're busy using any long-distance company.

We have no idea why AT&T has the notion that we own this number.  We do know that every time a check like this is cashed, NYNEX winds up charging themselves $5 to switch long-distance carriers on a line they never use.  It's the corporate way.

(Our legal counsel says we can't tell you whether or not we cashed the check.  Sorry.)