I was 13-14, and a member of Telenet's "Net Exchange" BBS, which existed to support members of its "PC Pursuit" [1] service. I dialed in via a backdoor on one

I was 13-14, and a member of Telenet's "Net Exchange" BBS, which existed to support members of its "PC Pursuit" [1] service. I dialed in via a backdoor on one of Telenet's 800 numbers, using (at first) a 300 baud modem on a HP 110 laptop. I got to be friends with a number of the folks on the system, and at the time, my main system was an Atari 520STfm (it was all we could afford). A bunch of the guys on the board took pity on me, took up a collection, and (secretly) called my mom. A month or so later, a Very Large Box arrived in the mail. The guys had gotten together with one of their own who owned a computer store, and bought me a used, but well-equipped, Amiga 1000 system, along with an adapter that let me use my Atari monitor with it. The letter that came along with the system said "No smart kid should be without a decent computer. All we ask is that you do the same for someone else when you're able." It made my mom cry. I used that system every day. Took it to school to show off a couple of times (we were using PS/2 Model 25s there, in comparison). It was used to do titling for the public-access news show my media class produced, among other things. It was my main system up until I had to "upgrade" (blech) to a 386sx-33 so I could run 1-2-3, Wordperfect 5.1, and DBase III+ for college classes. Over the years I acquired numerous A2000s, an A3000 or two, and even an A4K, but nothing beat the fun of firing up that A1000 back in the day. I turn 41 this year, and have had a great 20+-year career as a UNIX/Linux systems administrator. I'll never forget those guys who pitched in and helped out some kid living in a tiny rural Oklahoma town - they really helped get me to where I am today. To continue the tradition, I build and give away at least 2-3 computers a year to people who are less fortunate. It's the least I can do. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telenet#PC_Pursuit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telenet#PC_Pursuit