A handy bit of business.. .

The Wall Street Journal recently did a study about left handedness. Nobody asked my opinion on the subject, but since I have been personally involved in the matter for some eight decades, I feel I have a right to weigh in.

Yes, I am very left handed, in everything except cutting my meat. Apparently my Mother couldn't figure out how a lefty should cut her lamb chop when I was little. Since she was right handed,she simply taught me what she knew how to do. Other than that, I am a true lefty. (Ask Benard. Because I do everything opposite of the way he does it, he is sure I am going to stab myself when I do anything in the kitchen. Then again, my prowess in the kitchen could easily end in stabbing myself, but that's another story.)

According to the Wall Street Journal study, lefties make up only 10% of the population. Nobody knows exactly why some people are lefthanded although it tends to run in families. Not in my family, however. I was a bit of an anomaly in that department.

A fascinating bit of trivia is the fact that many US presidents were/are left handed, including Barack Obama. The list includes Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Harry Truman and James Garfield. Apparently, politics is non-partisan when it comes to handedness.

One of the favorite gifts I ever received was a pair of left handed scissors. Scissors are a problem for lefties, whoever invented them didn't understand that they are strictly for right handed people. I am probably the only volunteer reader at WLRN who brings her own scissors to the studio to cut out the articles from the Miami Herald before going on-air.

By the way, according to the survey, lefties make more creative artists because they are better at divergent thinking. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I'm going to accept it as a good thing, it has something to do with the way our brains are wired apparently. We're also good at sports. . think Phil Mickelson, Oscar de la Hoya and Rafa Nadal. The theory behind that? Since there are fewer of us, we get to practice against righthanders more than righthanders get to practice against us. Who knew!

No, my handwriting doesn't look weird and I don't have to sit at the left end of the table because my Mother taught me to keep my elbows in close when I eat. As a matter of fact, I'm rarely aware of my left handedness until someone sits down at my computer and wants to know why the mouse is on the wrong side of the keyboard.

The article also informed me there is such a thing as a Left Handers Club and we actually have our own day. Apparently I missed it. It was August 13th. But I intend to celebrate next year just as soon as I sign up and become a member.

Gee, I wonder whether they swear you in by raising your left hand??????
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Photo captions: The logos for the Left Handers Club.

I'm in love. . .

I got kissed by a giraffe this week.

His name is Fezzit, and he has a foot long dark purple tongue that he whips out and curls back up. In all honesty, I think he was more interested in the bowl full of greens I was holding out to him than in a long term relationship with me. But I was instantly in love.

My friend Alice is in town for the annual Doral/Publix "First Tee Golf Tournament" benefitting disadvantaged kids. . I help her work the tournament's pro shop selling shirts and stuff to the youngsters from 47 countries who actually play in the tournament. On Friday, before play began, we played hookey and spent the day at ZooMiami, courtesy of another friend, Diane, who is a long time docent at that truly incredible place. If you're a Miamian, and haven't visited the place formerly known as Metro Zoo for some time, you are in for a treat when you return.

I have fond memories of Sunday visits to the Bronx Zoo as a little girl with my Dad and my sister. In those days, animals were in cages, behind strong iron bars. Today, that practice is long since forbidden. The animals at ZooMiami roam free in areas that resemble their native habitats, and visitors are separated by deep moats, or in the case of the adorable river otters, by glass walls.

I am an animal lover so the day was a delicious treat, especially with Diane driving us around in a golf cart and favoring us with a personal tour. Her back-of-the-house knowledge of all the animals is priceless, not to mention that she knows them all by name.

Getting to feed Fezzit was an extra plus. I was a giddy as a little kid. Take a look at the accompanying photo if you think I'm kidding.
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Every dog has his day. . .

A whole bunch of dogs had their day here at Grove Isle on Sunday. Never realized there were quite so many canines living in our midst,although I am on first name basis with several tail waggers from my morning walks around the island.

Sunday at 11:30 was the official dedication of our new, first time ever, on-site dog park, named the Mary Carner "Paws Park", in honor of our late friend and neighbor who was an activist in securing the bayside bow-wow accommodation. There was champagne and cupcakes, plus bags of treats for four legged guests,(courtesy of Pets Mart, they recognize good customers when they see them)as our City Commissioner Mark Sarnoff presented a fancy gold embossed declaration to Mary's husband, Steve, while a photographer and reporter from the Miami Herald looked on. The South Beach social scene has nothing on us.

Since I am a cat person and neither Wasabi nor Ginger expressed any desire to leash up and attend the event, I represented the family wearing my best cat tee-shirt to show my support. Grove Isle dogs don't have names like Spot and Rex. I'm on petting basis with Mila, Henry, Jake, Lolita, Lola, Bailey, Chloe and Oliver. Our condo docs specify pets no larger than 25 lbs. so they also tend to be small of stature but large of heart. Just ask their devoted owners.

Everybody was on their best behaviour, including the adults. I understand there's a move to hold weekly cocktail parties in the park. For the owners, not the dogs, I trust. I'm thinking of demanding equal time for cats.
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Photos: 1. Sheila & Henry, wearing his UM tee shirt
2. Sharon & Lolita watching the proceedings
3. The plaque at the dog park door
4. Commissioner Sarnoff doing his thing

My early Christmas present. . . .

This morning was our last reading session for the year in United Way's pilot program, "Reading for Literacy". The four year olds in my pre-K class will be presenting their Christmas pageant next Thursday morning, so today, after reading about a hyperactive mouse who did something creative for every letter of the alphabet, it was time to say goodbye.

That's when the teacher, Miss Anita, announced that the children had made a gift for me. Can't remember the last time I was so touched. This is turning out to be a great holiday for me. The "significant other" bought me a Kindle Touch 3G for Channukah, and now a handmade gift from these kids I have grown to love.

Little Pablo, who always has an answer for every question I ask the kids as I read, even before I finish asking it, personally painted the Christmas tree on the poster. Miss Anita made sure to tell me that. And each of the kids signed their names on individual pieces of red paper that were then glued on the green background. .the two Sophias,Charlotte, Mia, Pablo, Dimitra, Roberto, Robbie, Alec, Allie, Zoe, Daniel and Jacob. Their names are engraved in my memory. Up in the left hand corner is printed a big Thank you. I may have to frame it, it is so adorable.

Sheila and I have really enjoyed volunteering for this pilot reading program. We're hoping United Way will call on us to read to another pre-K group in the coming year. Don't want to waste my new found ability to read a book upside down so that the kids can see the pictures and interact with the story line.

In truth, I think I learned as much as the kids did from the program. I never had any desire to be a teacher when I thought about a career years ago, but I have a new appreciation for both the importance and the non-financial rewards that they experience from the work they do.

In case I don't get to write again, Happy Holidays to you all. .

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