Musings of An Old Man

by Brian K. Moore

Who's the Boss?

The relationship and the marriage and the life of Phyllis and Brian was an equal partnership! I know, because I was heard to say on more than one occasion,…

Phyllis Gets Tough

In 1964 Mike Montejo, a tile contractor who did tile work for us, told us that his wife Happy Montejo, who was a real estate broker, had a couple of lots for…

The Doctor Came to the House

In 1975 Phyllis and I bought a houseboat. Phyllis had been wanting a houseboat. Phyllis liked to be “right on the water.” When we went traveling in our…

It Still Hurts

It is September 3rd 2009. In six days it will be nine months since my beautiful, wonderful Phyllis was taken from me. I have been told about how the hurt and…

Brian Finds the Letters

In the late spring of 1944 I was drafted into the Navy. Draftees always went into the Army. The Navy was all volunteer. I was drafted into the Navy because I…

Phyllis's Marker

I designed Phyllis’ grave marker. It is really “our” grave marker because I’m on it too. All that is missing for me is my “date of death,” which at present is…

Brian Cooks Weenies

Phyllis worked in the office as a receptionist, a secretary, a bookkeeper and a good buddy to anyone who came in and wanted to talk, of which there were many.…

Phyllis's Hysterectomy

In the fall of 1958, after going through quite a period of suffering from “female trouble,” Phyllis reluctantly decided that surgery was the only solution. She…

The Boat Was Sinking

This is two stories in one. They tie together. We were water skiing at Lake Isabella with our little P14 with the 45 horse outboard motor. Our skier had fallen…

Phyllis's Inheritance

Phyllis and her stepmother, Maxine, had a very good relationship. They were good friends and Phyllis and I looked after Maxine after Phyllis’ father died. We…

Brian Plays Tricks on Phyllis

Over the years both Phyllis and I, when the weather allowed, went barefoot around the house quite a bit. Since my feet were bare quite a lot, I developed…

PHYLLIS HOSTS A PARTY

In late summer of 2008 Phyllis said that she would like to host another Kiwanis installation. This is a special Kiwanis dinner meeting where the following…

PHLOWERS FOR PHYLLIS

For quite some time as an ongoing thing I made bouquets for Phyllis from the flowers and greenery and native growth in our yard. Last fall, two or three…

UNTOLD MEMORIES OF PHYLLIS

When I started these writings I had planned to tell my memories just as they were so that they would be real memories not doctored up, watered down versions of…

BRIAN CUTS A DISH

I was making something and I needed a piece of smooth plastic about four inches square and about one eight inch thick. I had been through all the stuff in the…

SHE LAUGHED WHILE SHE TALKED

Phyllis had a cute little characteristic which I have never seen in anyone else. Sometimes she would laugh while she was talking. It made her kind of hard to…

SIX MONTHS HAVE PAST

SIX MONTHS HAVE PAST, JUST HALF A YEARSINCE YOU WERE TAKEN FROM ME DEAR THOUGH THESE MONTHS ARE PAST AND GONETHE PAIN AND SADNESS LINGER ON ALL THROUGH THE…

WE HAD IT ALL

2009 WE HAD IT ALL “We had it all.” Those words tell it. There’s no way I can tell all of the things we had. There were so many. These are a few of…

PHYLLIS DIES

My beautiful Phyllis died December 12, 2008, from Alzheimer’s disease. The disease was kinder to Phyllis than it usually is to its victims, in that her decline…

BRIAN HURTS PHYLLIS

2008 This hurt was certainly not intended by me. Rather than causing hurt it was my intention to protect her. I may have misinterpreted the remark that she…

BUSTED HEAD

2005 In late September 2005, Phyllis and I and a whole lot of other people attended a fund raiser sponsored by the High Desert Community Foundation, of which…

PHYLLIS GETS A NEW SHOULDER

This is not a fun story, as most of them have been, but it is part of the memories. On November 5, 2005, Phyllis had a shoulder replacement. She had been…

PHYLLIS BUYS THE BREWSTER HOUSE

1997 In 1972 Phyllis and I built a house for Lenny Brewster. It is a big, rambling, rustic, ranch house on a hill on 13 acres of native desert. Lenny and I…

PHYLLIS GETS TWO DOGS

1996 This is one of my favorite stories because it was one of Phyllis’ favorite stories. She liked to tell the story of how she got the dogs and when she…

PHYLLIS MOVES TO THE DESERT

1954 This story begins with seemingly unrelated events coming together to cause what happened to happen. Event number one: In 1940, when Phyllis was 16,…

PHYLLIS LEAVES BRIAN (AND THE SAGA OF THE POTATO FARM)

1951 This story is not entirely about Phyllis; although, she was involved in the potato farm right up to her ears in the way that it affected her family…

MUSH AND GOO / PHYLLIS BEATS BRIAN

Daughter Margie has reminded me that Phyllis and my life together was not all mush and goo, as may have been suggested in some of my writings. Yes, we…

BRIAN COMES HOME

1949 So far there have been several stories that start with: “This is probably not the kind of story that a 90 year old should be telling to his children or…

PHYLLIS BUYS THE MONTROSE HOUSE

1947 Just before I was discharged from the Navy, Phyllis and Margie had gone to live with my parents. My parents lived in a rented caretaker house on a big…

PHYLLIS FOLLOWS

1944 When I was drafted into the Navy in 1944, the first stop, as with all recruits, was Boot Camp. In boot camp the main objective was to teach the recruits…

PHYLLIS BRINGS A GIFT

1944 The story that I am going to tell about this memory of Phyllis is a tribute to her love, loyalty and demonstrated devotion to me. Som may find it too…

BUSTED EGGS

1942 This is a story that I’m ashamed of, but I’ll tell it anyway because it’s part of the memories and it had a happy ending. Shortly after our marriage,…

THE HONEYMOON TRIP

1942 My first meeting with my future father-in-law was handled by me in a less than ideal fashion. Since I was the brother of his ex wife’s husband, Phyllis…

PHYLLIS'S HOSPITALITY

1941 This is another tale that 90 year olds usually don’t tell to their children or grandchildren, but since this group of stories is entitled “Memories of…

PHYLLIS AND BRIAN BREAK IN

1940 This is a story that 90 year olds do not usually tell to their children and grandchildren, but my memories of Phyllis would be sadly incomplete with out…

PHYLLIS'S MOM

I first met Phyllis’ mother Marge the same time that I first met Phyllis. Marge was a divorcee, age 31, who my brother, Joe age 21, was dating. I met her…

PHYLLIS AND BRIAN NOTICE

1937 There came a time when Phyllis and I began to notice each other. When I noticed that I was noticing Phyllis, I thought “But she’s just a kid!” And when…

IT'S OK TO TALK ABOUT PHYLLIS

Frequently people notice that when the conversation turns to Phyllis, I tear up and choke up, and they will say, “Oh, I’m sorry.” They feel that they have…

I STILL CAN'T TALK ABOUT PHYLLIS

2009 It is March 2009 and Phyllis has been gone for almost 3 months and I still can’t talk about her. I can say things like, “Phyllis used to sit here” or…

ANNIVERSARY 67

Anniversary 67, I face it alone For the love of my life forever is gone My life now is full of sadness and grief But the wonderful memories, do bring some…