Hermes

It is Greek God Day at the school attended by child number one.  He wanted to be Hermes, which I thought would be a breeze - a Hermes tie and off he could go.  No mum.  winged hat, sticks with snakes, and silver winged boots were required.  And a toga.  Off he went this morning, running into a friend who had cheated a bit and went as a minotaur.  A boy in a dress is no match for a ferocious minotaur and the face went long.  Luckily, at the school gates, most of the other boys were in togas and the face grew happy again.  Whew.

Hermes is a neat god.  Besides being sporty and a creative inventor of musical instruments he was a friend of all the neer-do-wells in the world and looked after them.  And, he was a psychopomp - a great word that simply means he escorted people to the correct place after death.  Hence the stick with snakes.  I really had Hermes down differently, with visions of Kelly Bags and madly designed scarves swirling through my head.  Now I understand why one needs a Hermes Kelly Bag.  It clearly has the power to transport you and all your sins to the afterlife in a comfortable way.  I would venture to say most female bankers or bankers wives have one or two.  And now the Hermes brand makes complete philosophical sense to me.