A Measure of Steel

I walked over to the neighborhood hardware shop and stepped along the lower shelf of the fasteners aisle. Amid rows of heavy plastic bins, a compact yellow tape measure sat slightly askew on the painted steel decking. I reached out and gently thumbed the spring-loaded lock switch downward. With a quiet scrape, the hooked metal tongue slid out across the painted steel. Exactly five centimeters exposed. I pressed the release lever, and the blade snapped cleanly back into its molded housing with a crisp, decisive click. The recoil mechanism is exceptionally sound.