1984: Gadgets, Gizmos And My First True Love

It was love at first sight. I had recently joined the local astronomy society and started spending social time with some university lecturers, doctors and government employees. It was a wonderful time for me, I learned so much from these people.

I learned that hippies still existed and now they were the intellectuals, not the drop outs. I learned that hippies were still off saving whales only they were saving gay whales now. I learned they still didn't shave their legs but they did smoke a helluva lot of pot and talk (argue) base social political structures.

I was the baby of the group at 17 years of age but it mattered not to them; I was still invited and participated in their social occasions. I was accepted and taken care of by the group. At the time I felt intellectually inferior to them but I never felt like a sore thumb or extra finger. In hindsight, I realize now, what these people realized back then, I was their intellectual equal and it was only lack of experience and my tender age that made me feel so dumb and different.

We spent many a night together up the mountains at our little observatory that we had built, recording lunar occulations, comets and eclipses while sitting around an open fire telling stories. At that time I wasn't the story teller. I was still yet to write my stories of life but it was fascinating listening to the other tells their stories sitting by the campfire outside, surrounded by nothing but a blanket of stars.

One of the others in the society was also named Margaret.