My right-hand man?

Since no students showed up yesterday, I was free then to organize a capital day today. Luckily, I've gotten a lot done, too. One of my tasks was getting my office in order. The fellows who have the keys to the supply room are often absent, and I finally caught them today. Laden with things like trash baskets and pens, I needed the security guard's help to get my new treasures up to my second floor office.

I reached for my keys and opened the door. The security guard was aghast. "You know, Madame, that here we prefer to be right-handed, because right-handed people are favored by God. Left-handed people like yourself.... they go the other direction."

I knew that it was very bad manners to reach into a communal dish with one's left hand, and that the left hand is reserved for things that are unclean, but I've also seen women freely using both hands while cooking! Surely, opening a door with one's left hand isn't worse than cooking with both hands... or is it?

The poor security guard -- I don't think he believed me when I explained that I really am right-handed and that I used the least encumbered hand to open the door because my arms were full. From now on, I'm really going to have to pay attention to the messages I send, unconsciously, through the use of my left hand. The last thing I want to do is offend, especially when folks are kind enough to help me!