I had to send a parcel, so I went to a US Post Office. Unfortunately, the contents were wrapped in a commercial box, which wouldn’t do. And so when I arrived at the post office, I covered it with the largest official US Post Office envelope that I could find. Still, the envelope was too small, and so I had to rip it open in order for the box to fit. Half of the parcel was uncovered and the envelope ends stood out from the package. I looked around for sticky tape but there was none.

I got in the queue for the counters. When it was my turn, I walked up to the attendant, already nervous that she’d tell me off for my bad wrapping. You see, back home, the rules are strict (and rigid). And so I was expecting something like:

‘Sorry, but this just won’t do. Please fix it and queue again.’

Or: ‘I’ll have to sell you a larger box, so that it fits correctly. Please re-package it and queue again.’

However, the lady just looked up and smiled. She asked: ‘Will that be alright for you?’

She then took out a broad roll of sticky tape, and handed me a long strip. Together, we stuck down the ends of the envelope, and my parcel was all set.

Funny, but sometimes it’s just easiest to improvise.