I got hooked on visual astronomy in August, 1957, during an evening at a remote lake in central Florida under a clear, very dark sky. The Milky Way was stunning and Comet Mrkos was clearly visible. As an impressionable 9-year-old, I wanted to see more, and a few months later my father bought a small telescope which gave us great views of Jupiter and its moons. I also started browsing a college-level introductory astronomy textbook which we borrowed from a neighbor.