I have always been a bit accident prone, which studies have shown is attributable to a forced change.
Or, you can just be a klutz... <g>
Even in childhood, I have been, *mostly*, a "rightie", so there had been no need to "switch" (much less "stick" <g>) me to the "norm"; I could do things with my left hand *almost as well*, but, as it wasn't encouraged, I didn't pursue it (I didn't pursue doing things with my feet, either. And now I can't do them anymore, sigh).
Nor has *any other* of my instinctive behaviour been forcefully changed (well... I used to throw up when forced to eat; when I was about 3.5 -- after a 3-months stay in a hospital where I was fed intravenously -- my mother whipped me one day, after I barfed the dinner for the 4th time, on advice from a doctor. I never did it again, though learnt to "accumulate" as much food as would fit into a cheek, then request permission for a trip to the toilet where I'd spit it out and flush it. Does it *count*? )...
But, when it comes to "accident prone"... :) My mother's claim that I had "two left hands" had some merit; I have two left legs as well, for all she never thought of it... Throughout my childhood, teens, and adulthood, I was a *magnet* for any accident that was passing by -- cuts, burns, you name it... All of it minor -- never had a broken bone, for example -- but a "fact of life" never the less; trips to the hospital for stitching were fairly commonplace, and first-aid-kits were scattered throughout the apartment to aid me with as much expedience as possible <g>
The schlemiel (or is it schlemeizel?) trait continued after I came here; indeed, it got worse after I started to learn to cook; every meal made where I did *not* slice off or burn a part of my hands was a minor miracle and a major achievement... :)
Things have improved, in the past 8-or-so years; I cut/burn myself only once every week (at worst), trip and bruise my shins even less often, and I haven't walked into a piece of furniture/lampost in ages... I date the reduction in the frequency of accidents to the onset of menopause (though a change in life style -- to a more lazy one -- has some impact as well, I'm sure); they still happen, just not as often. Wonder if there'd been any studies on *that*?
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Tamara P Duvall
Lexington, Virginia, USA
Formerly of Warsaw, Poland
http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd/
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