Remembering The Early Years, Part 1

The first batch of beer I was involved with was helping my high school friend make some "Holiday Cheer" in his parents' kitchen. Even though we were only 18, my friend's dad figured that we were better off drinking homebrew than shoulder-tapping older kids for alcohol. That, and he got to drink some of the beer too.
"Holiday Cheer", as detailed on page #225 in Charlie Papazian's "The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing", is a beer with the kitchen sink thrown into it: Malt extract, honey, black patent malt, grated ginger, cinnamon, orange peel, and lightly hopped with Cascades and Saaz. Despite my friend having a pretty gung-ho attitude towards sanitation (I believe we "cleaned" out his plastic carboy with a garden hose, then topped up the concentrated wort with the same garden hose), I recall that the brew turned out fairly drinkable for being knocked out by a couple of beginners. I don't believe there was any sort of record keeping or measuring of gravities or other similar activities which I take pretty seriously today, but back then it was all about the wonder of making your own booze. Another friend of mine from high school started home brewing before any of us, albeit without the approval of his parents. I remember going over to his house and being barricaded in his room so that the stinky blowoff wouldn't waft into the hallway. I don't believe I ever got to taste any of his homebrew, but he definitely put it into my head that all of these things were attainable to an enterprising teenager. I'm not sure if homebrew supply shops card suspiciously young-looking customers, but it wasn't an issue when I was younger. Business is business, and the shops weren't technically selling minors anything alcoholic. Besides, teenagers aren't drawn to activities where they're required to clean, so that in itself is a bit of a deterrant.
It would be about 3 years later before I got my own gear and started brewing myself. I suppose that will be a good starting point for Part 2.