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On the Other Hand
by
Harry Buschman
I am a right-handed person. I consider myself fortunate to be right-handed
because I live in a right-handed world. My camera is made for a right-handed
person; so is my meat grinder and my 5-speed stick shift lies comfortably within
reach of my right hand.
Right-handedness, (in my opinion) is an acquired condition. It is one we
inherited from the lower animals, whom, as everyone I’m sure will agree, are
right-footed – or winged – or finned – or whatever.
By nature all of us are left-handed, and I think it's a problem we inherited
from Adam. Oh yes! Adam was left-handed; didn't you know that? God, on the other
hand was right-handed. Proof? of course there's proof! Stand in the Sistine
Chapel and look up at the Creation on the ceiling. God extends his right hand
and Adam reaches for it with his left. Even if it’s not proof for everyone, it’s
proof enough for me! It was probably the first mistake Adam made, he made others
to be sure, but I suspect they stem from his left-handedness.
On that indelible sixth day God said to himself, "Well that ought to do it – the
rest is up to them." Had He taken a closer look, He would have noticed Adam was
a left-hander and headed for trouble down the primrose path.
I never noticed it myself until that afternoon in the nave of the Sistine
Chapel. As my wife and I stood looking up at the ceiling we had an epiphany. It
was one of many epiphanies we had together in Italy. This one was memorable
because it occurred as my pocket was being picked and my wife was being sexually
congratulated in the Roman manner. At that precise moment, we both noticed Adam
was left-handed.
We checked out Moses at St. Peter’s. He holds the tablets in his right hand; he
was obviously left-handed. You see, if he was right-handed he would have held
them in his left hand to leave his right hand free to write. Meanwhile, David, in
Florence holds the stone in his right hand and the sling in his left ...
obviously a left-hander.
Who decided to change all that?
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