Tips on how to carry a crate of fruit up a staircase

Few people talk about how hard it is to carry a wooden crate full of fruit up an incredibly long staircase. Chances are, when you first start the climb, someone is with you. They might hold the door open for you, seeing your hands are full, and begin the ascent alongside you. They might strike up a conversation, or they might simply fulfill their civic duty and not look your way again. So you walk. And at first, the fruit in your crate is likely fresh and fragrant. The staircase is busy, people come and go. With some, you may have a casual chat, others might draw you into a long conversation, and some you'll pass without even noticing. Still, the scent of your fruit is bound to attract attention. Some people are curious about where you're headed and why you're carrying the crate. Others might talk about their favorite fruits. 

And a few might even try to sneak an orange or two when you're not looking. One of the problems with staircases is that when your fruit is sitting in an open crate, it’s very easy for it to spill especially with all the people bustling around you, who might bump into you without meaning to. And of course, while dropping a firm pear once or twice might not be a big deal, if you drop a banana, well, there’s hardly any point in picking it up again. It’ll only make a mess of your hands. That’s why you have to think carefully about how you arrange your fruit in the crate. Climbing a staircase is no small task. So after you've climbed a decent number of steps, your legs will start to give out, wobbling beneath you, which only increases the chance of losing fruit. It's quite possible that once the fruit at the top of the pile has been dropped or taken, you'll uncover others you didn’t even know were there. In that moment, the most important thing is not to panic,otherwise, you might end up losing everything.

It’s also worth remembering that even though people may be walking the same staircase with you, each of them is headed in their own direction, to their own destination. So don’t be too upset when they inevitably turn off on their floor, leaving you behind. Who knows? Maybe you’ll see them again. After all, there must be people besides you who have business on your floor. So one day, maybe not today, you’ll run into someone who, without either of you knowing it yet, is climbing in the same direction you are.