Local Lefties Celebrate Today

Are you sinistrophobic - having a fear of everything to the left and lefties? If so, today might not be your day. August 13th is National Left-Hander’s Day, a holiday started in 1976 meant to promote awareness of the inconvenience of being a southpaw in a right-handed world.

The Ticker tracked down some local lefties, who make up about 10 percent of the population, to find out more about those inconveniences.

Gary Swaney of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan says there are several disadvantages to being a southpaw, such as scissors not cutting right, and the infamous pen smudge.

“It’s just part of the writing experience for lefties. Kind of a sign someone is a lefty- a smudgy left hand.”

Fellow southpaw Trevor Tkach of the National Cherry Festival adds, “My hand written notes are embarrassing. I’m always looking for quick-dry pens to reduce smudging.”

Both Swaney and Tkach agree that writing in spiral notebooks and three ring binders can also be a challenge for lefties. But right-handed desks and notebooks aren’t the only nuisance for lefties in the classroom. Sometimes it’s the teacher.

“In the early 1980s, my first grade teacher was very much bothered by the lefty in her class,” recalls Interlochen Public Radio reporter Linda Stephan. “She insisted I hold my paper straight up and down, and insisted I use right-handed scissors.”

Some studies have shown that lefties are more creative and artistic than their right-handed counterparts. Tkach agrees and jokes that they are also better looking. (Is now a good time to mention that the author of this story is left-handed?)

One of those artistic lefties is guitarist Phil Wolinski of Old Mission Peninsula, who runs his own internet site selling left-handed guitars (www.panchosleftys.com). He says being a left-handed musician has several challenges.

“Prior to discovering eBay, the selection of new lefty guitars was almost nil at any music store.”  And when he did find that rare guitar, there was usually an extra cost to go along with it.

“Typically, a lefty pays anywhere from 10-20% more compared to the identical model that a righty buys,” says Wolinski, who hopes one day to make and sell lefty guitars constructed only of Michigan hardwoods.

Nick Edson of Cherryland Electric is a third generation southpaw when it comes to batting and golfing. Officially he is ambidextrous, meaning he is a true right-hander, but does many activities left-handed.

Edson says renting clubs was always a challenge when on the road.

“When I would mention to the golf pro that I had to rent clubs, he would smile and tell me what a great assortment they had. But when I said I was left-handed, the smile would come right off. Several times they would lead me to the downstairs dungeon where I would get to choose between three sets of clubs that were at least 20 years old.”


Did you know? 
Six of the past 12 presidents have been left-handed- including President Obama.  (Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama).
Source: Washington Post