Being a Left-Hander

Being a Left-Hander

For my entire life, I've felt like I'm a klutz, very ungraceful, a spaz...I've blamed it on my height, my need to get places in a hurry, my just not being very coordinated.  And I would have gone through the rest of my life feeling that way, if I hadn't happened upon an article online.  Finally, I have a reason for my "condition"!  My failure to look poised and feel graceful  can be directly attributed to the fact
that I'm a lefty!

From the first time I tried using scissors in kindergarten, to dipping ice cream with an ice cream scooper at my first job, I've known being a left-handed person in a right-handed world was difficult.  But after finding out new information in this article, it isn't any wonder I come off looking awkward!

Like, did you realize that a tape measure's numbers are upside down, if held by a lefty?  Or that can openers are downright dangerous in the hands of a left-hander?  You know the pens that get handed out, the kind with advertising on them?   In the hands of a lefty, their message is lost because the printing is upside down.  And the pens, attached on a chain, at the bank, are on the wrong side, for someone of my ilk.  Same deal with credit card scanners...wrong side!  The countless letters and cards I've written that were smeared from dragging my hand across the fresh ink?  Unavoidable for a lefty!  And don't get me started on  spiral notebooks and binders!  It's downright painful for a left-hander to write, with those wires jabbing into your hand!

I could take solace in the company of famous left handers, like President Ronald Reagan, the great actor Robert DeNiro,  and basketball whiz Larry Bird   ( And gloss over some of them, like The Boston Strangler, Jack the Ripper and John Dillinger, all lefties.)  but I, perhaps, should just "own" it and face the fact that things are just a bit askew for someone like me.

So do me favor.  The next time you see someone wrestling with their credit card at the check-out line, writing upside down at the bank teller's window, or bleeding from using a spiral notebook, don't look at them with disdain or pity.  Just know that they're doing the best they can with something they never asked for...being a Left-Hander...