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Aug 9, 2004 The first time I saw the above headline printed on a tee shirt I was hysterical with laughter. When I got home I wrote it out on the computer so I could remember it, but wait a moment, something was not right. This is way it came out on my computer “Dyslexics Fo Teh Wrold Unite!” It suddenly became very obvious the jokester who originated the pun is/was not dyslexic. But, I am! I don’t know my left from my right. When driving if I turn a corner, I’m immediately lost. I don’t add or subtract well. I was never certain how I got through high school with a B+ average when I had to take algebra three times before I passed it with a low C. I also made it through the last two years of college with a straight A average. The reason for the high marks, no math courses were involved. I have no problem with penmanship and I don’t see characters in reverse when I’m reading although at times, I have to read a paragraph or sentence several times before I grasp the full meaning. My biggest problem has always been with typing. I have tried to take touch-typing courses on two separate occasions, years apart, and have failed miserably. For some reason when I type I spell out the word, in my mind, and this is where the problem seems to begin: The comes out ”teh”; for is “fro”; parent is “parnet”; time becomes “tiem” and mistake is “msitkae” and so on. It can get pretty frustrating, particularly if I am tired. I went through more than 60 years of my life before I learned I was dyslexic. Rather, I was told I was dyslexic. It happened at a baby shower when I had won a prize. The hostess said, “Your prize is in my right hand.” I sat there like an idiot looking at the two potted plants not understanding which one I had won. She finally thrust out a hand and said, “Here, this is yours.” I was so embarrassed! Later, a friend tactfully whispered to me. “You don’t know your right from your left do you?” I whispered back, “No, I really don’t.” “My God, you’re dyslexic,” she said aloud. All heads turned in our direction. I was shocked, not embarrassed, then, but shocked. “So that’s what is wrong with me,” I responded, relieved to finally know the cause of my hang-ups. I have been accused of being some kind of “control freak”. I have to know exactly where I am going and what I am going to be doing from one task to the next. I realized after that afternoon at the baby shower that the “controls” I force on myself are the keys to my survival. My boss in Sacramento asked me why I needed a street map to mark out the path to my destinations every time I went on an assignment. I worked as his PR assistant for the yearly United Way campaign and had to travel all over the county. I told him I wasn’t sure why I did it, but I knew I had to in order to get where I was going on time and in one piece. If he would have asked me, then, if I knew my left from my right, I might have figured out I was dyslexic in the mid 1960’s - that is if dyslexia already had been diagnosed. He didn’t. He merely shook his head and went back to his office. I have lived in Yuma, AZ for more than 20 years and know the community pretty well. But, to this day, when I drive to a destination I have not been to before, I look up the address in the telephone directory, mark it down, and figure out if it is located on the left or the right side of the street on my route. Crazy, I don’t think so! I know I’m dyslexic and on short notice I still don’t know my left from my right. ------------ About the author: Bobbie Hart O’Neill is a retired print media journalist, CSU-Sacramento, ’74, with 40 years experience in the field. She has worked as a reporter, feature writer, columnist, public relations writer, magazine/newsletter editor and publisher. She is currently a freelance writer residing in Yuma, Arizona and has published a children’s book, written three screenplays and a novel. In addition, she is interested in civic affairs, politics, current events, ethnology and animals. Visit her blog. Also visit In The Name Of Honor - Mystery/Suspense Novel http://www.anotherchapter.com and Billy's Jungle Adventure - Children's Book/Animals www.lulu.com or email Bobbie: bobbieo@digitaldune.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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