I purchased a red paper umbrella while visiting Japan, forgetting that it wouldn’t fit in my suitcase. When I started my journey back to the United States, a polite Japanese woman behind the ticket counter said that I wouldn’t be able to take the umbrella through security. So she took the umbrella, assuring me that I would be able to retrieve it at the end of my flight.
I thought I would never see my umbrella again, especially since it didn’t have any packaging to protect it. After thirteen hours and eleven minutes of flying and switching planes, I arrived home. When I went to the baggage claim area, I spotted a red umbrella—my lovely umbrella. The polite Japanese woman was right; the paper umbrella safely traveled 6351.6 miles without a nick or a tear.
