# Can you walk down a flight of steps without looking at it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-down-a-flight-of-steps-without-looking-at-it/580404 "2011-05-01T19:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-down-a-flight-of-steps-without-looking-at-it/580404/41 "2011-05-04T14:46:38Z")
I always look down, have a death grip on the railing if possible, and walk slowly. I have foot drop and neuropathy in my feet since chemo, and sometimes a foot doesn’t lift all the way, catching on the edge of the step and catapulting me down the stairs, if I’m not very alert. Last week I was carrying a load of sheets and blankets down the stairs to the laundry room and ended up on the basement floor in a tangle of sheets and blankets. The cat at the top of the stairs was extremely puzzled. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-down-a-flight-of-steps-without-looking-at-it/580404/42 "2011-05-04T15:23:20Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Indeed. I always wonder how people with strollers/babies manage on the subway. I have enough trouble getting my MetroCard out with all my various bags–forget an actual, factual baby! At first, that seemed like a silly question. In the cases where the subway floor is level with the platform, just roll right on. No big deal. But on the trolleys where there are a few steps? That’s trickier. But I’ve seen people do it. If it’s a stroller, sometimes the parent can lift it by themselves. Carriages are another matter. But there’s almost always someone willing to help out. Then I thought about subway stations themselves. Some don’t have elevators. If you can’t manage stairs, you’re not using the station. And most stations here are stairs, then a turnstyle, then more stairs. I often wonder what it’s like getting through life in a wheelchair. Not an easy thing in the places I go! But having a baby must be very nearly as difficult. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-down-a-flight-of-steps-without-looking-at-it/580404/43 "2011-05-04T15:27:23Z")
Hey **limegreen** , if it helps at all, those re-useable handle bags from Whole Foods hold a perfectly sized load of laundry when stuffed full. I’ve collected four of them and use those to go to the laundry room nowadays. It’s so much easier to sling a couple bags over my shoulders, and have hands free for 4 flights of stairs for me. I say the Whole Foods ones because they’re a little taller than bags I’ve gotten from other stores. They’re close to the same size as a larger brown bag but with shoulder handles. Maybe that will help? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-walk-down-a-flight-of-steps-without-looking-at-it/580404.md?page=2)