Left Handed

I mentioned in this post that I wish I was left handed.  I've always had this wish, and I'm not sure why.  It could be because one of my favorite aunts is left handed, or maybe because one of my favorite high school teachers was left handed.  I remember sitting in class watching my teacher write on the chalk board and thinking that it just looked like more fun to write with your left hand.  For whatever reason it's always there in the back of my mind.  Sometimes I'll be in a meeting and rather than doodling like a normal person might I practice writing with my left hand.  I should mention that I'm terrible at it - but I keep trying.

Today I traveled to Minneapolis for a morning meeting and I had plans to go to lunch after the meeting with one of the attendees.  Unfortunately she wasn't able to attend at the last minute so there went my lunch plans.  Rather than wandering around downtown Minneapolis in my high heels I decided to hit the road and stop to eat somewhere along the way - it's about an hour drive back to my little town.  I ended up at an Applebees about half way home, and I settled into my booth and waited for my lunch to arrive.

A group of 8 businessmen arrived and sat at a table on the other side of a half wall that separated their table from my booth.  As they chose their seats one of the men asked if he could be at the end of the table because he is left handed.  That got my interest and I spent the rest of my time at Applebees eavesdropping on a group of men talk about being left handed.  I am so easily entertained!

It turns out that 6 of the 8 men were left handed!  Oh my!  One of the men, whom I'm guessing was the boss, said that he tries to only hire left handed employees.  I'm not sure how the two righties felt about that.  Anyway, he explained that it's a right handed world and to be left handed you need to be creative and persevering.  Huh!  He said that when he interviews potential employees he always has them sign something so he can find out if they are left or right handed.  They had quite a lengthy conversation and I was entertained while I ate my lunch.

For those of you concerned about discrimination do not be alarmed.  Being right or left handed is not a protected class, so it's fine to make your hiring decisions based on that alone.  Not something I would recommend, but perfectly legal.  Spoken like a true Human Resources professional, right?  Yep, that's my day job.

Are you left handed?  If not, do you wish you were?