So he died right there on the floor.
Meadows Moore, 43, is continuing the towing business today, though the name and location have changed.
In fact, five months ago, Meadows Moore purchased the former R&D Auto Parts — his main competitor — and expanded his business to include scrapping wrecked automobiles. He went from owning 1.5 acres on Terry Drive to nine acres on Yankee Road.
On Thursday afternoon, Meadows Moore, a 1992 Middletown High School graduate, sat in his office, only a few feet away from where his grandfather died.
The irony and comparison aren’t lost on him.
He understands the struggles his grandfather and father faced when the business was in its infancy.
“For me now, I know I have more opportunities than they did,” he said.
But it hasn’t always been easy.
“Bumps and bruises” is how he described the challenges caused by the color of his skin. “It’s still rough, but it’s easier now.”
During those long days, when it’s dark when he leaves for work and dark when he gets home, Meadows Moore thinks back to when he was introduced to the profession by his father.
“When I was a kid we had to work,” he explained. “There was no sitting around. You come in here, you come to work or go home. And if you went home, he wasn’t going to be nice. He wasn’t going to be happy. So we had to work.”
In the 1990s, the biggest challenge facing the Moores was getting on the City of Middletown tow truck rotation, so that when services were needed, their company was called. They had to have the property equipment and the right size property, he said. M&M Towing was added on the city list in 1999, he said.
“That was big,” said Meadows Moore, who added that service created constant cash flow from the large number of impounds.
M&M Towing impounded four or five cars a day and charged the driver a $105 fee and $18 a day for storage. That adds up quickly.
“You are making money,” he said.
When the city started impounding its own vehicles, Meadows Moore said the business “grew into other things” like scrap metal.
He remembers riding in the back seat when he and his father went to car auctions with Mose Cohen, a brilliant businessman. Cohen took the Moores all around the state, treating them to the finest steakhouses, Meadows Moore said.
“He took care of us,” he said. “He literally took care of us.”
And now, the little kid has grown up and is owner of a third-generation business in his hometown. Though he never met his grandfather, he often thinks about him, and the voids in his memory are filled with family folklore.
“He’d be so proud of me,” he said of his grandfather. “As I was growing up, all the older guys used to look at me and say, ‘There’s something about you. You are just like your grandpa.’”
That brought a smile to his face. There’s nothing like being compared to someone you idolize, though you never heard their voice.
“They always told me he was one of the best mechanics ever in this area,” he said.
Does he has any advice for others considering owning a business?
“Just stay grounded and keep hustling,” he said. “You got to work.”
Or go home.
And wait for your dad.
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