A typical cold, dark, winter Saturday morning in January. I get up at six a.m., wash, dress, eat my breakfast and walk the mile and a half to the streetcar line. I’m nine years old and by myself. (Yes, a different time.) In my pocket is a one-dollar ticket for an eight a.m. “Youth Performance” of Ben-Hur. Downtown this early is mostly deserted. Most of the stores are closed and unlit. As I reach the center of the city and turn the corner, the movie theater midway in the block is lit up like a Christmas tree with a throng of people arriving. Being one of the old-time, magnificent movie theaters, this auditorium holds almost 2,000 people, and it’s sold out.
The film had a huge impact on me: great story, outstanding direction, excellent performances, fantastic production design and one of the most exciting action scenes ever filmed, the chariot race. No CGI there. Thus, began my interest in all things Roman.
My professional career went in another direction though, Information Technology. But over the years, I continued to study the history of the Roman Empire, archaeology, biblical archaeology and scholarship, and comparative religions.
Over the years, I would come up with stories from my research, and my wife would say, “You should really write that down.” I’m retired, now. And I’m writing them down.
