Years ago I was studying at the Universität zu Trier, in what was then West Germany (1974). I needed a book for one of my classes, but it was not in stock at the bookstore. The saleslady said I could order and it would come quickly.
As I filled out the form, she smiled and said, Sie schreiben wie ein Gangster!/You write like a gangster! I smiled and wondered. None of my German friends knew why she said that. Much later when I was teaching German, I learned that saying came from some of the actors who frequently appeared in the much-belovedKrimis (detective/police/gangster) movies was a southpaw, How many gangsters are called "Lefty"? If you write with the so-called wrong hand, it is easy to break any and every law.
I remembered from Latin class that sinistra meant left, and sinister comes from that. When I was in Rome, I asked a police officer "Il Vaticano?" He replied, "Tertia via sinistra". I capeeshed.
In third grade 8 of the 28 of us in class were lefties. Kindly ms to write with the right hand. That was in 1961, and things had changed. The parents asked her to relent, and to her credit, she apologized to the class. When I took guitar lessons, I played right-handed.
My father was ambidextrous, which makes me who I am. My grandson seems to be ambidextrous as well, but it is too soon to tell. I am going to enjoy the day!
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