Ben Hur

I’ve never seen the movie Ben Hur all the way through – beginning to end. My parents watched it every year when it came on television. TV shows, BTW, were listed out in what was called the TV Guide which was included in the Sunday newspaper. You looked up what shows would show on which channels at what day/time during the coming week and you planned your TV viewing schedule accordingly. Plus we only received 4 channels back then: 8, 10, 13, plus UHF which required its own antenna. I remember when we acquired a motorized antenna which was mounted to the roof – by a dial on a console next to the TV you could change the direction the antenna was pointed and get a clear signal of whatever station you were watching. It was magical, at the time. VCRs weren’t yet available for the average (or, in our case, below average) family.

Ben Hur in its entirety is nearly 4 hours long but I would last only about a half hour or so before I fell asleep. My parents would wake me for the chariot races, which I found very exciting, after which I would crawl up to bed.

Suppose I should spend the time, someday soon, and watch the whole thing.