I have a confession to make.
I am a leftie.
A southpaw.
Sinister.
Well, not sinister so much as clumsy.
Actually, I like to think of my klutziness as a result of having to deal with a world that has been created for the use of the 90% of you who favor your right hand. There are studies showing that left-handed people as a whole are more accident prone than the rest of the population; more likely to die young as a result. So hey diddley dee, neighbor -- I take it very seriously.
Being left handed has impacted me in strange and mysterious ways. I have trouble taking a photograph without jiggling the camera (guess where the button is? The left handed shop actually carries a camera with buttons on both sides!) Forget about our camcorder - the controls are totally on the wrong side of the box. I have considered learning golf but never went through with it because of the difficulty of finding left-handed clubs for a woman who's only 5'2". Even simple things like using scissors and knives can confound me (I have to hold the former upside down and the serrations on the latter are on the wrong side for use by the left hand).
My husband, who is sympathetic to my plight, sent me this link to Left Handers Day a couple of years ago. It's sponsored by a Left Handed shop and catalog in London. I know - very Flanders. But I now use an ergonomically designed left-handed pen that I ordered from the place. And some day, I'm going to get me those knives.
In the meantime, if there is a leftie in your life, you may wish to tell him or her about this. And order a little something from the catalog. Believe me, you'll be thanked. (And if that person is your son or daughter, do check out their left-handed school supply kits. I used to get C's in handwriting when I was little, and I think it was entirely due to my lefthandedness. This stuff could help.)
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