the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Not wanting to be left alone

I got a Left-Handers Calender for Christmas last year which I’ve been using more as the year goes on. It’s a fountain of lefty trivia, with a snippet of southpaw-related info facing each week’s calendar page, as well as notations on each date coinciding with the birthday of a noteworthy lefty. For instance, this week’s birthdays were:

• Lou Gehrig (6/19)
• Nicole Kidman (6/20)
• Prince William of England (6/21)

In contemplating why lefties like me feel compelled to cling to these mostly meaningless bits of data, I can only imagine the tendency might have been born of a sense of persecution.

I’m used to being singled out, even by my own family, for my peculiarity; only my father and I share the trait, and he was essentially forced to write righty as a child (back when schools still frowned on such incarnations of evil). Bless him though, because he continued to nurture his gift while the teachers weren’t looking.

Apparently, there is such a thing as a blog ring for left-handed folks, which I find heartening for some reason. I may have to join now. I’m sure it’s got to do with the compulsive reaction I always have when I first notice someone else using the left hand – almost giddy, really, and I can’t quite rationalize it.

I wrote about the recognition factor previously. I asked readers to tell me if they were lefty, but only two commenters turned up as lefties (well, two commenters and one commenter’s wife). Which is no disrespect, because the two lefty respondents were definitely worthy of the affliction, and both of them made just a little more sense to me once I found out.

Of course, I’ve got a few more readers now, so maybe I should cast the net again – see what I can catch. Anyone else?

I’m another one of the “righties” but can relate to the “out” feeling on several key issues in my life – things where a common trait really make me feel almost instantly more connected with a person.

I think it’s borderline abuse the way until maybe our Gen (maybe a little before) that people would try to force a hand preference. The cyclic spiral having etymological (am I spelling my 50 cent word right?) based on such prejudices (I believe the word sinister has such orientations, and I think there are others but I’m wiped). And the way that these prejudices drive language which is then used as a crutch for continuing the prejudices…

I would guess this is a correlating factor to your openness/relativistic side/not immediately spurning of that which deviates? I feel similarly for me – certain areas where I felt immediately different from the norm drive mine.

PS - Dude – you totally could have used that as your next poll (hard left, ambi left, full ambi, ambi right, hard right)

PPS - had a shower thought – this all seems to fall under the bucket of “wanting to “know” someone without getting to know them, and it’s a pretty messed-up bucket – from the fiery redheads to the twin “special powers” (my best friend who has one wished hers had the ability to remember her birthday – chew on that mental twizzler) to the worst extreme of the Holocaust. So even as some of these fade in and out, I fear human nature would find new ones.

I too need a custom can opener.

Yes, I remember you were one of my lonely comrades last time around.

Sadly, in case the thought of a left-handers’ blogring had excited you too, it appears the particular ring I linked to hasn’t been tended to in about two years.

It’s like we’re endangered or something…

“It’s like we’re endangered or something…”

Lefties do live an average of 7 years fewer than righties.