My grandson who is 15 decided today he wanted to watch The Ten Commandments, which is a long movie, but a good one. We rented it and he and his sister – age 11 – started watching it; I was around the corner in the other room finishing up some stuff, but listening to the dialogue as I worked. I could picture the scenes in my head from memory. I guess it was about the time Moses encountered the burning bush that I went in and drew up a chair. It occurred to me that my granddaughter, who was not particularly enthused about watching this “old” movie, would find the special effects humorous. To her credit, she didn’t say a word; I was the one thinking that it looked like an electric fireplace, and a bad one at that. Irony – it works in mysterious ways. I was the one thinking Charlton Heston; she was the one thinking Moses. I was the one visually examining the divided Red Sea; she was the one immersed in the drama. I was the one looking at Edgar G. Robinson and thinking “Chicago Gangster”; she was the one deploring his behavior.

So it ended and we moved into the kitchen for a snack. My grandson sported his signature grin and asked, “So who’s up for The Greatest Story Ever Told?”