A gift then, and a gift now. My introduction to electronics.

In a blog post earlier this week, I shared the story of my very first introduction to electronics - way back when I was maybe eight or nine years old.  I had been referring to that distant memory in my sidebar bio here on The World is Analog from the beginning, since the project that my Dad helped me build back then - a "foxhole radio" - was the spark that fired my interest in the technology that I still enjoy so much today.

By inspiring me while I was such a young boy, my Dad unknowingly paved the way to a career that quite literally changed my life. From the Rust Belt to Silicon Valley. What a great trip it's been! That 1st project, along with all the Gilbert Scientific kits and construction sets, were gifts that kept on giving.

I ended that blog post on "Antennas at War", with this postscript:

p.s. if you happen to come across an original edition of All About Radio and Television, you can imagine how much I'd love to put my hands on one.

Well..my awesome wife apparently read that. I was left speechless today when the book by Jack Gould somehow appeared on my desk. "Honey, could you show me something on your computer?", she said. And there it was, like a time machine taking me back to that day in the cottage where I lived as a kid... at 15 ¹⁄₂ Garner Ave. in Buffalo NY.

I couldn't wait to find the chapter on the foxhole radio. What a strange feeling it was to realize that this was exactly the set of instructions we followed, each image recalling a vivid memory from the past. 

It was a great gift then, and an awesome gift now! Thanks to my Dad, and thanks to my lovely wife.