i repeatedly burn my hands – Ciaran Short

November 15, 2025

not intentionally. but maybe partially. because i know better yet i still do it. i touch the hot screw. fresh off the drill.

there’s a quote that has followed me for a long time. or maybe it’s more like an anecdote, which at this point has certainly been warped by memory.

in elementary school, i remember being told about when George Washington first went to war and he shook hands with an important general or some other war person. apparently, Washington’s hands were so soft to the point that the general or whoever commented on it and somehow, this moment in time had filtered all the way to me and a class full of second graders.

the implication was that because his hands were soft, he, too, must be soft and i think i’ve really internalized that message.