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.
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