I have this irrational fear of falling down the stairs. When I was younger, I often would go down the stairs…slowly, right foot…forward each time. Making sure that both feet were on the stair before proceeding. Over the years, I discovered that this was quite abnormal practice and forced myself to adopt how everyone else walked with one foot on each stair, alternating with each side. Still, I never could speed up my going down the stairs.

Just like cows maybe. They can climb stairs but they can\’t go back down.

As I was gathering my things (to catch this awesome opera of Noye\’s Flodd and the Jackleg Testaments), I got a phone call telling me they were outside to pick me up. So I rush downstairs ready to run out the door (I had made them wait already 10 minutes), in the darkened stairway, I lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs. No broken bones this time, but just achey knees. Outside, I realized that there was something wrong with my right shoe. Stupid cheap boots from Kaufman\’s.

I guess that\’s what they call going weak in the knees.