Ray and Bob, two government maintenance workers, were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up.
A woman walked by and asked, “What are you doing?”
“We’re supposed to find the height of the flagpole,” Ray replied.
The woman looked up at the enormous pole.
“Why don’t you just measure it?”
Ray and Bob looked at each other.
“We don’t have a ladder long enough,” Bob explained.
The woman smiled.
“I think I can help you.”
She walked over to the flagpole, pulled out a small screwdriver, and loosened a bolt at the base.
With a little effort, she lowered the flagpole carefully to the ground.
Then she took out a measuring tape and measured it from one end to the other.
“It’s exactly thirty feet,” she said.
She tightened the bolt again and walked away.
Ray and Bob stood there in silence.
Finally, Ray shook his head.
“Government workers,” he said.
“What?” Bob asked.
“They asked us to find the height, and she gave us the answer.”
Bob nodded.
“Yeah. And she didn’t even tell us how tall it was standing up.”
Ray looked at him.
“Exactly.”
Bob sighed.
“Sometimes I think we’re making this job harder than it needs to be.”
Ray smiled.
“That’s why they hired us.”
