A Too Tight Fit

Our mail person believes in persistence. He manages to push the oddest assortment of packages into our mailbox. The other day he outdid himself when he squeezed a rectangular hard cardboard box into the box. This wasn't the type of cardboard that bent easily. The Great Courses Company packs their DVDs in the sturdiest packaging. I believe I could stand on that box without causing any damage.

No matter how much I tugged on the package-- it didn't move. The front end refused to give enough for me to nudge it beyond the opening. The mail person loads our community mailbox from the back end. The front end has a rim running around the edges of each of the twelve individual mail boxes--unlike the back end of the mail box. 

After my wrestling match I went inside and armed myself with a screwdriver. With my own persistence, I used the implement to bend the edges of the cardboard inward. After a few minutes the mail box released its hold. Not that the box slipped out, but once the bulky front got beyond the rim, I thrust my arm into the mail box and pushed the package out.

Perhaps my mail person didn't want to walk to my door, perhaps this person desired to present me with a conundrum-- a problem to solve. If I believed in conspiracy theories there's a story to be woven from my encounter.

Perhaps I am the richer for relying on my latent mechanical abilities.