How I learned to bass fish. part 1 (true) part 2 (tongue n cheek)

I fished for crappie with my dad from about six and then at about nine I started using lures for bass.
My dad let me have his steel rod and Great Lakes bait casting reel.  Line back then was all black and huge. I  would round up enough scrap metal to buy lures.  I also used a reel type push mower without a motor and mowed a few yards for lure money.  I hauled the scrap iron in a red wagon tied behind my bike to the buyer.
I would ride my bicycle to Harper`s pond behind Sam Harper`s house as we just lived a short distance away.
When I caught my first big bass, a five pounder, on a Jitterbug.  I was so excited I forgot my bicycle and ran home to show the family.  My dad drove me back to get my bike.
(part 2 tongue firmly n cheek)
One day I had a good string of fish and two guys with boat and trailer stopped me.  They wanted to know what bait I used.  They said I should get a bass boat and join a bass club so I could really learn to fish for bass.
When I got my first pickup I bought me a bass boat and trailer and joined the bass club.  I learned that I also needed lake topo maps, depth finder, temperature meter, trolling motor, and buy all the fishing magazines to learn to fish better.
Well I bought all these things and learned to fish good but by the time I checked for fish on the depth/fish finder, read the water temp at different depths I did not have much time to fish.
One day on the way home from Barclay lake we saw two young kids crossing a fence and they had a nice string of bass.  Being thoughtful we stopped them and told them that they had a fine string of bass.  We invited them to the bass club and let them know that when they got old enough they need to get a bass boat, lake topo maps, fish finder, water thermometer, and trolling so they can really learn to fish good.