My First Post!

So why The Left Handed Rabbit?

Well, I’ve been a lefty (aka “southpaw”) since birth, an inherited trait from my father, the late (great) Robert Trotter. I’ve enjoyed being left handed ever since I realized it was one of the things that make me different and special. It has always been one of the ways I’ve defined myself.

Being left handed is like being part of a secret club. You never know until you see someone pick up a pencil. Then it’s the moment of connection and kinship – “Oh, you’re left handed, too.” Then, the exchange of a smile and the knowing nod of getting by in a world designed for right handers.

My kindergarten teacher (the lovely) Mrs. Ericson took great pains to teach me to write correctly with my left hand. She and I both stayed after school, often late into the afternoon, teaching and practicing the art of left handed writing. Thanks to her endless patience, I finally perfected the slight hand tilt that kept the pencil lead from smearing the paper and ending up on my hand.

I thank God for Mrs. Ericson and her insistence I learn correctly, especially after I heard about my Dad’s left handed school experience. When Dad was growing up, the schools thought children could have the “left handedness” taught out of them. My Dad’s teachers forced him to write right handed, resulting in many miserable years for Dad and un-legible papers and assignments for the teachers. When Dad was finally allowed to write left handed, he came up with a very, very tiny left handed shorthand which he used all his life.

My Dad’s been gone for seven years now. Still, when I see one of his tiny, tiny notes tucked in somewhere, I notice that familiar slanted scrawl and smile.

And rabbits? Well, they’ve been my joy, passion, and delight since I was eight.

So, The Left Handed Rabbit it is.