My wife and I were watching figure skating a couple years ago, and she noticed that a few of the skaters were spinning “backward.” Having never looked it up, or really even noticed before, I replied that I bet it was because they’re left-handed. (I can’t skate, but I’m left-handed.) I looked it up. I was right.
I also can get lost without trying, so circular walks are just my speed. :-)
Bill, thank you so much for this comment! I love the observation by your wife that the figure skaters were spinning backwards - that’s brilliant!
I spotted a friend’s young daughter playing on her scooter back in the summer, and noticed that she was scooting along the same way that I used to. I was always the only one who’d stand on the scooter with my right foot and push off with my left foot.
‘Oh, she’s left-footed like me!’ I told me friend. ‘Yup, she’s a goofy!’ said my friend. ‘I can’t wait for her to start snowboarding!’ Interestingly the little girl isn’t left-handed. I’m left-handed and -footed, although at school it felt very natural to use a right-handed hockey stick on my right side, although left-handed options had been available. If I were to play guitar - I don’t - I’d hold it upside down! Jim laughs his head off whenever I pick his up - it’s like ‘yeah, Rebecca, you’re the wrong way up!’.
I wonder if you’d enjoy reading this post of mine about my left-handedness? I’m sure you’ll relate to a lot of it!
Yes, pretty much all of this! I taught myself to cut right-handed (badly, but I do it) because left-handed scissors basically disappeared once I turned about 8 years old. Strangely, I have always texted right-handed.
One of the many things about right-handers that slays me it that when I prefer to sit on the left side of a booth in a restaurant and they think it’s so I can chicken-wing. Meanwhile, they eat with their elbows out like they’re going to fly, and I have my elbow buried in my ribs.
I’m now wondering where my (redundant!) pair of left-hand scissors got to! It doesn’t matter that I can’t find them, though - they were worse than useless.
It’s so interesting that you prefer to sit on the left - I much prefer sitting on people’s right-hand side, because I find it more natural to look left towards them, rather than right!
Thanks, Sue! 😘 The coins are bonkers, aren’t they? I’d never seen anything like that tree! All of those curved elements gave it such a beautiful texture. Really special. We’ll never forget that walk!
I can hear the call of those geese, smell the damp humus, feel the crunch and slip of my feet, and taste that welcome hot tea. You are such a fine writer, Rebecca. I always feel as if I have walked quietly behind you and had my own outing. Thank you for getting me out of my rocking chair for a few minutes. I have missed reading about your forays
Oh Sharron, thank you for this lovely comment - you’re so kind! I enjoyed unearthing this Old Gold post to reflect on and edit because it reminded me of those lovely walks of mine. I’m looking forward to getting out there again one of these days!
When I first subscribed to Dear Reader, you were writing a lot about your rambles. I was immediately drawn in because I, myself wanted to be there and you carried me along!
Awww, that’s lovely! Well, the first posts of yours which I ever read were travel pieces - that’s such a coincidence! I’m not going for walks at all at the moment, but I hope that will change once what has been slowing me down is finally identified. Have got some appointments coming up which I hope might shed some light! Fingers crossed I’ll be lacing up my walking boots and striding out again soon - I’m sure I will. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll be writing about those strides, too!
You confused me with your left-foot turn to go anti-clockwise. HUH? If my mind is working correctly, and that's been debatable today, if you turn anti-clockwise ... to your right ... wouldn't you turn with your right foot instead of your left? I'm so confused. Sorry.
Meanwhile, I loved your discovery of the money tree. I'd love to know more about the origins of this custom. Is it based on people needing to mark their passage with a physical memento at the place? We have a couple of similar customs here in the desert lands where people do get lost and are never seen again. Visitors to Nevada bars tack dollar bills or whatever currency they have in their pockets on the ceilings. Basque bars used to do this as a means for a shepherd to pre-pay his bar tab. This morphed into visitors marking their passage at the bar/saloon/tavern. Often, they write their home location or whatever they want to say.
Another even weirder tradition is the Shoe Tree. A newlywed couple resting alongside the highway got into an argument and the bride threatened to walk back to town. Her groom grabbed one of her shoes and threw it up in the tree. This started the custom of people adding their shoes to this tree in the middle of the Great Basin. Vandals cut down this old tree with its hundreds of shoes hanging from its branches. People held a wake in its honor. Then they took all those shoes and threw them into a another tree near where the old one stood. You can't keep a good tradition down.
Ooooh, I see what you mean, Sue. But I lead with my left foot - I always set off with my left foot, whether that's to go upstairs, downstairs, or to go anywhere on foot, whether that's from the bedroom to the bathroom or on a long walk. And because I've got a preference for looking left (as I always did at school, towards what I was writing - and towards my right-handed friend who would be looking to the right towards what SHE was writing) I have a corresponding preference, I suppose, for moving to the left as well. Going anti-clockwise around something is just a whole load of turning left! I lead with that side, that's all it is.
It really amused me when we were working with a school trip on a shoot at a different Roman fort that when the kids were shouting out 'sinister, dexter, sinister, dexter' (left, right, left, right) the vast majority of them started their march on their RIGHT foot, because that is most people's dominant side. I didn't like to mention that they'd got sinister and dexter the wrong way round! 🤣
I'd never seen a money tree before - it was quite extraordinary! As for tacking up dollar bills, and the shoe tree, those are fascinating traditions, too. In our nearest city you can see pairs of shoes (tied together with their own laces) flung over the overhead telegraph wires. I'm not sure what those mean to anyone seeing them, but it strikes me as odd - not to mention a bit of a waste of a pair of shoes!
LOL! It's amazing how our bodies orient us in our relationship with the physical world. I've noticed also that living mostly in the northern hemisphere, I orient southward toward the sun. I'm wondering if other people do that or is it also because I lived in a south-facing earth-bermed house. The windows were all on the east and south sides to harvest solar heat. There weren't any windows to the west or north.
As for the shoes thrown over the wires, my 🙄daughter explained to her truly-sheltered mother that they were a signal to drug users that they could buy drugs from the people in the house near those shoes. sigh Not the same romantic connotation for the Shoe Trees.
Wow, that's so interesting, to turn to towards the sun - awww, just like a sunflower, in fact! They're called 'tournesol' in French - I love that! I have no idea whether an actual compass direction influences the direction I feel drawn to turn towards - and of course I'd have to ask someone else to identify that for me, because I just can't work it out! Our almost-south-facing bedroom window looks directly onto the South Downs.... but if ever I want to know which way's north, south, east or west when I'm at home, well, I have to ask Jim, because I just don't take it in!
Interesting - and alarming - about the drug connection to those shoes! I had no idea - thank you!
I remember loving this post before, Rebecca. Your voice is so strong, the joy of discovery and the willingness to apply that as much or more to yourself as to what you see around you. I'm re-energized to learn more about money trees and also having a moment of sympathy for this beech tree, as I wonder whether it fell *because* of all the coins.
You will also be amused to know that this post just spawned a lively discussion with my Jim on the subject of goofy-footedness, where that term got its start, and whether it was discriminatory to left-handed people. LOL!
Thank you so much for linking to my recent pigeon post. Interestingly, Gail Sawyer and I found, via Notes, that we both have an affinity for pigeons, baby birds, and chickens. How fun to see her mentioned here as well!
I'm so happy that you read it again, Elizabeth - thank you for such kind comments!
I too wondered about the beech tree, and whether it had been still been upright when it began to be furnished with coins. I hope not!
LOL re goofy-footedness - I have to say I was a bit taken aback to hear my friend say 'she's a goofy' - although of course it hadn't been said with malice! Labels can be awkward, can't they?! At school left-handers were often called 'cack-handers' - I didn't like that one bit! In the Olympic skateboarding coverage the commentators very often referred to competitors having 'goofy stance' - and that sounded just fine to me! I'm not offended by it.
It was a pleasure to link to your post! I love that you share your affinity for those lovely creatures with Gail - have you ever read her squirrel post? Buckle up....... it's a heck of a ride! https://gailsawyer.substack.com/p/a-squirrel-totem
Oooh, yes, I remember that tail...er, tale. 🐿️ And I remember going off in search of an explanation for why a cast iron wood stove would have a HOLE in it like hers does. Daily, we watch squirrels chewing away at our wooden outdoor tables, but I think even their teeth have limits. :)
Thanks for reading, Julie! And thank you for having me on Monday - I’m sorry that it was just a fleeting visit this time, but I’m glad to report that I DID still achieve my Write Along goal the same day! Your influence reaches far beyond that hour. 😘
I can never forget that photograph of tiny little Rebecca. Adorable. (No wonder you love walking. Clearly a family trait.)
Awwww! Thanks, Beth! I’m still wondering where those blonde curls went…..! 🤣
My wife and I were watching figure skating a couple years ago, and she noticed that a few of the skaters were spinning “backward.” Having never looked it up, or really even noticed before, I replied that I bet it was because they’re left-handed. (I can’t skate, but I’m left-handed.) I looked it up. I was right.
I also can get lost without trying, so circular walks are just my speed. :-)
Bill, thank you so much for this comment! I love the observation by your wife that the figure skaters were spinning backwards - that’s brilliant!
I spotted a friend’s young daughter playing on her scooter back in the summer, and noticed that she was scooting along the same way that I used to. I was always the only one who’d stand on the scooter with my right foot and push off with my left foot.
‘Oh, she’s left-footed like me!’ I told me friend. ‘Yup, she’s a goofy!’ said my friend. ‘I can’t wait for her to start snowboarding!’ Interestingly the little girl isn’t left-handed. I’m left-handed and -footed, although at school it felt very natural to use a right-handed hockey stick on my right side, although left-handed options had been available. If I were to play guitar - I don’t - I’d hold it upside down! Jim laughs his head off whenever I pick his up - it’s like ‘yeah, Rebecca, you’re the wrong way up!’.
I wonder if you’d enjoy reading this post of mine about my left-handedness? I’m sure you’ll relate to a lot of it!
https://rebeccaholden.substack.com/p/34-my-awkwardness-is-sinister
Yes, pretty much all of this! I taught myself to cut right-handed (badly, but I do it) because left-handed scissors basically disappeared once I turned about 8 years old. Strangely, I have always texted right-handed.
One of the many things about right-handers that slays me it that when I prefer to sit on the left side of a booth in a restaurant and they think it’s so I can chicken-wing. Meanwhile, they eat with their elbows out like they’re going to fly, and I have my elbow buried in my ribs.
I’m now wondering where my (redundant!) pair of left-hand scissors got to! It doesn’t matter that I can’t find them, though - they were worse than useless.
It’s so interesting that you prefer to sit on the left - I much prefer sitting on people’s right-hand side, because I find it more natural to look left towards them, rather than right!
Those coins, though! At first I thought it was just a complex bark formation. I have never seen anything like that.
Your walks are always full of new discoveries and thank you for sharing, Rebecca!!
Thanks, Sue! 😘 The coins are bonkers, aren’t they? I’d never seen anything like that tree! All of those curved elements gave it such a beautiful texture. Really special. We’ll never forget that walk!
Lovely as always!
So kind, Jen, as always! Thank you! ☺️
I can hear the call of those geese, smell the damp humus, feel the crunch and slip of my feet, and taste that welcome hot tea. You are such a fine writer, Rebecca. I always feel as if I have walked quietly behind you and had my own outing. Thank you for getting me out of my rocking chair for a few minutes. I have missed reading about your forays
Oh Sharron, thank you for this lovely comment - you’re so kind! I enjoyed unearthing this Old Gold post to reflect on and edit because it reminded me of those lovely walks of mine. I’m looking forward to getting out there again one of these days!
When I first subscribed to Dear Reader, you were writing a lot about your rambles. I was immediately drawn in because I, myself wanted to be there and you carried me along!
Awww, that’s lovely! Well, the first posts of yours which I ever read were travel pieces - that’s such a coincidence! I’m not going for walks at all at the moment, but I hope that will change once what has been slowing me down is finally identified. Have got some appointments coming up which I hope might shed some light! Fingers crossed I’ll be lacing up my walking boots and striding out again soon - I’m sure I will. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll be writing about those strides, too!
You confused me with your left-foot turn to go anti-clockwise. HUH? If my mind is working correctly, and that's been debatable today, if you turn anti-clockwise ... to your right ... wouldn't you turn with your right foot instead of your left? I'm so confused. Sorry.
Meanwhile, I loved your discovery of the money tree. I'd love to know more about the origins of this custom. Is it based on people needing to mark their passage with a physical memento at the place? We have a couple of similar customs here in the desert lands where people do get lost and are never seen again. Visitors to Nevada bars tack dollar bills or whatever currency they have in their pockets on the ceilings. Basque bars used to do this as a means for a shepherd to pre-pay his bar tab. This morphed into visitors marking their passage at the bar/saloon/tavern. Often, they write their home location or whatever they want to say.
Another even weirder tradition is the Shoe Tree. A newlywed couple resting alongside the highway got into an argument and the bride threatened to walk back to town. Her groom grabbed one of her shoes and threw it up in the tree. This started the custom of people adding their shoes to this tree in the middle of the Great Basin. Vandals cut down this old tree with its hundreds of shoes hanging from its branches. People held a wake in its honor. Then they took all those shoes and threw them into a another tree near where the old one stood. You can't keep a good tradition down.
Ooooh, I see what you mean, Sue. But I lead with my left foot - I always set off with my left foot, whether that's to go upstairs, downstairs, or to go anywhere on foot, whether that's from the bedroom to the bathroom or on a long walk. And because I've got a preference for looking left (as I always did at school, towards what I was writing - and towards my right-handed friend who would be looking to the right towards what SHE was writing) I have a corresponding preference, I suppose, for moving to the left as well. Going anti-clockwise around something is just a whole load of turning left! I lead with that side, that's all it is.
It really amused me when we were working with a school trip on a shoot at a different Roman fort that when the kids were shouting out 'sinister, dexter, sinister, dexter' (left, right, left, right) the vast majority of them started their march on their RIGHT foot, because that is most people's dominant side. I didn't like to mention that they'd got sinister and dexter the wrong way round! 🤣
I'd never seen a money tree before - it was quite extraordinary! As for tacking up dollar bills, and the shoe tree, those are fascinating traditions, too. In our nearest city you can see pairs of shoes (tied together with their own laces) flung over the overhead telegraph wires. I'm not sure what those mean to anyone seeing them, but it strikes me as odd - not to mention a bit of a waste of a pair of shoes!
LOL! It's amazing how our bodies orient us in our relationship with the physical world. I've noticed also that living mostly in the northern hemisphere, I orient southward toward the sun. I'm wondering if other people do that or is it also because I lived in a south-facing earth-bermed house. The windows were all on the east and south sides to harvest solar heat. There weren't any windows to the west or north.
As for the shoes thrown over the wires, my 🙄daughter explained to her truly-sheltered mother that they were a signal to drug users that they could buy drugs from the people in the house near those shoes. sigh Not the same romantic connotation for the Shoe Trees.
Wow, that's so interesting, to turn to towards the sun - awww, just like a sunflower, in fact! They're called 'tournesol' in French - I love that! I have no idea whether an actual compass direction influences the direction I feel drawn to turn towards - and of course I'd have to ask someone else to identify that for me, because I just can't work it out! Our almost-south-facing bedroom window looks directly onto the South Downs.... but if ever I want to know which way's north, south, east or west when I'm at home, well, I have to ask Jim, because I just don't take it in!
Interesting - and alarming - about the drug connection to those shoes! I had no idea - thank you!
Tournesol. I like that too.
Yes, the hanging shoe thing IS alarming. Hope you don't have such shoes hanging in your neighborhood.
Nope, I’m glad to report! x
I love everything about this...
So kind, Prue - thank you! ☺️
I remember loving this post before, Rebecca. Your voice is so strong, the joy of discovery and the willingness to apply that as much or more to yourself as to what you see around you. I'm re-energized to learn more about money trees and also having a moment of sympathy for this beech tree, as I wonder whether it fell *because* of all the coins.
You will also be amused to know that this post just spawned a lively discussion with my Jim on the subject of goofy-footedness, where that term got its start, and whether it was discriminatory to left-handed people. LOL!
Thank you so much for linking to my recent pigeon post. Interestingly, Gail Sawyer and I found, via Notes, that we both have an affinity for pigeons, baby birds, and chickens. How fun to see her mentioned here as well!
I'm so happy that you read it again, Elizabeth - thank you for such kind comments!
I too wondered about the beech tree, and whether it had been still been upright when it began to be furnished with coins. I hope not!
LOL re goofy-footedness - I have to say I was a bit taken aback to hear my friend say 'she's a goofy' - although of course it hadn't been said with malice! Labels can be awkward, can't they?! At school left-handers were often called 'cack-handers' - I didn't like that one bit! In the Olympic skateboarding coverage the commentators very often referred to competitors having 'goofy stance' - and that sounded just fine to me! I'm not offended by it.
It was a pleasure to link to your post! I love that you share your affinity for those lovely creatures with Gail - have you ever read her squirrel post? Buckle up....... it's a heck of a ride! https://gailsawyer.substack.com/p/a-squirrel-totem
Oooh, yes, I remember that tail...er, tale. 🐿️ And I remember going off in search of an explanation for why a cast iron wood stove would have a HOLE in it like hers does. Daily, we watch squirrels chewing away at our wooden outdoor tables, but I think even their teeth have limits. :)
Your squirrels are very cheeky to gnaw your tables like that! Definitely unreasonable behaviour!
Lovely as ever Rebecca. Your posts are always a delight for me, even if it takes me entirely too long to get to them!
Awww, thank you, Sabrina! And I can relate - BIGLY! 😘
Hi Rebecca! Love the rework here or the 2nd edition. :) Thank you.
Great to see you for a bit on Monday. Thank you for joining and hope you're gaining a little more energy...bit by bit.
Thanks for reading, Julie! And thank you for having me on Monday - I’m sorry that it was just a fleeting visit this time, but I’m glad to report that I DID still achieve my Write Along goal the same day! Your influence reaches far beyond that hour. 😘
No apology is needed. It was great you came when you did and great to hear you got your writing in. Keep going! :) Happy weekend to you.