Musings of An Old Man

by Brian K. Moore

The Car Came Down

One evening in 1940 or 1941 I had brought my brother Joe’s car home to do some brake work for him. This was before Phyllis and I were married, and I was still…

Brian Tips a Glass

I have been really inebriated twice in my life—once at age 17 when I was learning about wine, and once at age 25, when I was learning about whiskey, and was…

Swim Over the Coral

We were on a Caribbean cruse on a big sailing vessel with auxiliary diesel power. The ship was anchored off shore. The shore boat was loading to take a group…

Swim in the Current

I learned to swim at age 17. Despite the late start, I got to be a pretty good swimmer. On two occasions my swimming ability almost got me in serious…

Stop Car With Foot in Tailpipe

Way back in the ‘30s, motor vehicle laws were much less restrictive. You could do just about anything that you wanted to do as long as you didn’t drive too…

Burn up Motorhome

This story is listed in the category of “Dumb things I have done.” I also have a category entitled “Unusual or Innovative things I have done.” Sometimes these…

Brian Sticks His Tongue in a Light Socket

All my life I have been a little cavalier about encounters with electricity. Having considerable knowledge of electricity has helped me maintain a healthy…

Brian Punches the Inspector

In 1942, the year that Phyllis and I got married, I was working at Lockheed Aircraft as a Group Supervisor. I had supervision of about 50 people. My section…

Brian Pours 5 Gallons of Water in Gas Tank

A long about 1980, Glenn and Katy and Phyllis and I were traveling in Mexico, in Baja California. Baja was quite undeveloped then, with almost no paved roads…

Brian Abandons Ship

In the early days of water skiing my good and old friend, Don George, and I were water skiing on the Colorado River. We had no observer as this was not yet a…

Blow-up Motorhome Battery

For years I have heard that batteries could explode. The action of a battery involves breaking water down into hydrogen and oxygen which is an explosive mix so…

Brian Breaks His Back

Sometime in the 60s I built a swimming pool for Glenn and Katy Mc Connell. Glen and Katy ran the local lumber yard and were good friends of ours. We had…

I LEFT PLUG OUT

I bought my first car, a 1921 Model T Ford, when I was 13 years old and spent most of the summer working on it so it would be ready to drive. When I turned 14…

I STUCK A NEEDLE THROUGH MY HAND

In the mid 30s I worked for Uncle Fred quite a lot. Uncle Fred manufactured small gas heaters in a small, family operated business located in the basement and…