A Stack of Magazines

A tower of glossy magazines stood beside the sofa edge, tilted outward by several degrees. The balance was precarious. I stepped across the wooden floorboards, measured the angle of the lean, and approached the lower corner. Dropping my stance low, I drove my right shoulder plate against the bottom issue while planting both broad boots into the grain of the floor. The paper shifted with a firm, sliding rasp. Three centimeters inward. The stack settled into true vertical alignment. The load is neutralized. It will not tip.