Of zoos and more

Today was a wild and crazy one, nothing unusual there. I was able to have a chauffeur drive me to work while I read the paper this morning (as if I were a subway commuter) so that was nice as the house guest was off to visit with his Dad today. He also ran a long list of errands for me while I was at work so earned his keep. He unfortunately apparently left his Dad’s apartment key on the car keys, which have now gone to work with his girlfriend for the night so other than sleeping in the car his father has no other option than to retrieve them. Can’t imagine that would make him happy but what can you do? As I enjoyed the drive home I was listening to an interview on CBC with a female author named Barb Stegemann about her newly published book called The 7 Virtues of a Philosophy Queen:

http://www.the7virtues.com/

and she said that women didn’t have these conversations with their mothers, the philosophical info was passed down through patriarchs. She named the 7 principles beginning with the four virtues of the Stoic’s of truth, courage, justice, and wisdom then added the female ones of wonder, moderation and beauty. I’m not sure what kind of household she grew up in or what conversations she had with her mother but I certainly had a full understanding of those principles from an early age. Mind you, I can relate to my mother being a Stoic as she was one tough cookie who didn’t expect things to come easy.

Baby daughter had left for her first night shift saying “I hope they don’t expect me to know everything” and being reassured that this is what orientation is for. Weather forecast is for showers tomorrow so a good ‘sleep day’ in between the night shifts. I checked in with daughter # 1 to find that she’d attended a job fair at the Calgary Zoo, saving her the $16 admission fee just for speaking to a couple of folks and was now off to explore the place, you could hear animal shrieks in the background. Talk about jealous, I was involved with a zoo today but it was of the human variety. Sigh. I also checked in with daughter # 2 to see if I’d interpreted the letter written to her in French about tutoring – I can usually make a close guess with my high school francais. She was busily sewing curtains and organizing their little nest as the man of the house puttered with his tools. That first place after home or a communal residence is always special, even us old folks can remember that. Speaking of folks needing a first place the homeless couple of son and girlfriend have arrived for the night seeking room at the inn so I must investigate the accomodations.