Tension and Twine

Leaving the cafe table, I stepped down into the gravel beneath the wooden bench. A discarded striped paper straw lay bent at a right angle alongside a loop of baker's brown twine. The hollow paper tube lacked internal rigidity, flattening whenever pressure applied. I examined the fracture. Using both palms, I threaded the coarse twine straight down through the straw's open bore until the fibrous knot caught inside the bend. Pulling the trailing cord taut established internal cable tension. The crushed paper sleeve straightened instantly, converting into a stiff, load-bearing strut between two gravel stones.