Right and Left

I've always had trouble with right vs. left, in all its various meanings. It started when I was a kid, with the most basic problem- "which way is left?"

The technique I used to figure it out is causing me heady ramifications even today. I know now that the left hand makes a "L", but no one gave me THAT little gem early on, and so here's the way I learned it- "The left hand is the one with the freckle on it." I'm always looking for that freckle- it's the way I learned it, and it stuck!

The problem is that the freckle is fading, in fact, almost gone. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, on the right hand, in the exact same place, a freckle is growing! This transition has been happening for about 3 years, and the complexity and far fetchedness of it boggles my mind. So, as a full grown, intelligent adult, I still have trouble with right and left. Add "stage right and stage left" in to the mix, and you'll find me slinking around just trying to stay out of other people's way.

I also had a hard time with Right Wing and Left Wing. Here's how I learned that- "Right Wings are the ones who think they're right all the time." They have a determined sense of "right and wrong." Left wings are more likely to be accepting of grey areas. The artistic, creative community is generally Left Winged. So, they think with the "left side of the brain." NO WAIT! That's not right!

The Left Wings create with the right sides of their brains, the Right Wings crunch corporate tax benefits with the left sides of their brains. When the Right Wings are watching shows from the left side of the theatre, the Left Wings stand on Stage Right, though standing face to face with the Right Wings, who are using the left sides of their brains to calculate the "right" amount of grant money to allot to struggling artists.

If this post seemed a little pro-left, don't forget that I used the right side of my brain to write it.