Wednesday, April 14, 2010

My Other Left Foot

I made a curious obvervation today:  the hemispheres of my brain are fighting to trade sides.  My observations, like most of them, generally occur while I am driving and this one is particularly fitting.

I thought it curious how the mind works differently when forced to do so.   For example:  I now live in a country that was founded by the British.  Canada, the country from which I originate, was also founded by the British.  Yet, in both of these countries, we drive on opposite sides of the road.

Really?  Who was responsible for this?  Better yet, why?

I don't get it.  In Canada, one drives on the right-hand side of the road but in the Bahamas, it's on the left.  This is totally confusing.  If I'm in a car (in either country) and giving directions to the driver and say, "Take the next left", I simultaneously point the right.  This hand signal is not only necessary to properly reach our destination, but also to avoid the risk of bodily harm by accidentally going the wrong way on a one-way street or driving directly into the nearest canal (unless, of course, the driver looks to the right while I'm indicating left and my finger is too close to the driver's head, then there is a slight risk).

One day I was driving with my stepfather and, being somewhat unfamiliar with where we were supposed to go (I should note here that I always drove instead of him because he used both of his feet in an automatic and, well, it makes for a pretty jerky ride).  He told me to take the next right.  Ya, right.  I was only here a few months and since my brain was still in Canada mode, I made a left instead.

No worries.  No one got hurt: there was no one-way street or canal and, thank the Lord, he didn't point.  Mind you, it was a right turn.

Hmmmm..... maybe the reason for this unreasonable choice of the right/left driving concept is spawned by government mind control:   politically speaking, Canada is currently driving on the left while the Bahamas is driving on the right.

No confusion there.

I'm now the only one that drives my car. I can stop pointing.

"It's my other left".

2 comments:

  1. So in Canada we drive on the right because our government is driving on the left? Makes sense to me. As much sense as anything else to do with government.

    Funny post.

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  2. Thanks Frank.

    The same Paliamentary system is used here, however it is not as up-to-date as we are used to in Canada. The Q&A periods, if and when we get them on t.v., can be hilarious, particularly with the Bahamian slang and accents.

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