Moon Over Philadelphia

Deathlok Spotlight – Moon

Moon, or Tom Mooney, is my Father-In-Law. Tomorrow he goes in for his second open heart surgery. His first was 13 years ago. 5 bypasses later, he was as good as, if not better than, new. This year, at 78, it was discovered that he needs to go in for a triple bypass. So as my wife and I plan to take him in and wait for the good news tomorrow, it seemed a good time to, not only reflect on Moon, but to share the life of someone who is, in my opinion, extraordinary. Don’t get me wrong, this guy is a pain in the ass. It’s one of the many qualities that he and I share an I love him like my own Dad.

Keep in mind that most of his life is kept to himself and unless you get him at the right time and in the right mood, you may never learn anything about this guy’s life. . .which is incredible.

When Moon was a little kid, his Father died and his Mom got remarried. The problem was that her new husband wanted her and not her children. So, off to the orphanage went the kids. I know he has a brother and a half brother. Recently, he found out that he had other half-siblings that he never knew about. Can you imagine? Anyway, eventually all the kids got placed in homes, except for Moon. He grew up in the orphanage until he was 16, at which time he had to leave.

One of his best friends was my wife’s uncle. He was around a lot and eventually moved in with them. . . .a family of 10-12 kids. . .I lost count. Anyway, being employed, he was the coolest thing ever to that family. Considering that 1 or 2 of my Mother-in-Law’s family completed their high school education, having a job (and money) was a foreign concept.

Moon went into the Navy and served on the USS Ware (pictured). I found this out a few years ago and surprised him with a USS Ware hat for Christmas. He was impressed. A few weeks ago on a road trip, I learned that after the Navy, he joined the Merchant Marines. The stories this guy has are awesome. I could listen to this stuff for hours. He also told me that he was married before. He was married for about 90 days, and gave her half of everything because he was so in love with his friend’s sister, my Mother-in-Law. It turned out that my wife didn’t even know this. . .That went over well. As I said, you have to catch him at the right time.

Moon was a Philadelphia Policeman for a while, a driver for the Philadelphia Bulletin, owned a corner store and other jobs that I barely know about. He can fix anything as long as it’s not by conventional means. The trunk of his car puts Home Depot to shame. He will help anyone and everyone. Unfortunately, he’s not real good at accepting help in return.

One of the first experiences of this neurosis was when I moved into my “To Be” wife’s house. I mentioned that I was going to take the glass doors off the tub and put up a shower curtain. When I came home from work, it was done. We had to upgrade the outlets in the house. I was determined to replace more than him to show him that I wasn’t worthless. We finished about even. Unfortunately, I could feel my arms because I electrocuted myself three times. I showed him!!

Anyway, I don’t know what we would have done all these years without him, so please keep him in your thoughts tomorrow.