The media continue to dwell on every nuance of the new Pope’s life, wisdom, patience, humility, and daily ablutions. They narrowly avoid discussing his bathroom accommodations. Suddenly, this ordinary human being has been elevated to near-sainthood because a bunch of old men in red dresses elected him. News analysts I normally respect, buy into this. There is no guarantee of common sense, apparently, when one touches on religion.

I maintain that this is a form of emotional masturbation and the faithful are welcome to it. Moreover, I won’t deny them their survival accommodations, but I do deny them their constant efforts to impose their version of morality on others.

Last night “The Ten Commandments” was on TV. Charlton Heston played Moses, Yul Brynner was Rameses, Anne Baxter was Rameses’ self-involved wife, Nina Foch was Heston’s wife, who loved him even after he stopped with the sex thing because nothing was more important than his godly mission. Edward G. Robinson played a selfish, greedy, local politician, who delighted in trying to destroy Moses and inciting his followers to turn against him. Boo, hiss.

I enjoyed the movie. I also vastly enjoyed Snow White, Bambi, and Fantasia. The special effects were superb (Moses parting the Red sea). I love fairy tales.

I remember all of these actors vividly. I have total recall of my movie going from the 40s and 50s, even from the 30s when the family went to the local movie house every single weekend and watched Laurel and Hardy and Westerns and Shirley Temple, with whom I identified vividly.

I thought I would never let go of movies. But I have. I am never in a movie house these days. TV takes up most of the urge because I like the old movies, and the other issue is Ed’s bad back and if one eats or drinks before going, there is more than one trip to the bathroom.

The last movie I saw in a theatre was “Gladiator” with Russell Crowe, in Queens, in 1999 or so. Ed and I and his visiting cousin, Arthur, saw it together. It was “okay”. It rears its head every now and then on TV and Ed will watch it and I will go do something else.

xx, Teal