I very much enjoyed your personal history of photography.
I'm a relative newcomer to Pentax, compared to you.
I purchased my first Pentax SLR, back in February, 1968...50 years ago. Back then, I worked for a publishing company and one day the publisher told me I needed to make myself more useful. He informed me, that In addition to my editorial duties , I would also be working as a photographer. I didn't know anything about cameras or photography and asked him what kind of camera should I get. He replied...35mm SLR...Nikon or Pentax. I looked at both makes, the Pentax (S1a) was $ 20 cheaper. I bought the S1a and a handheld Sekonic light meter ($9.95) and started my 50 year adventure in photography, with a variety of different makes, but mostly with Pentax.
Welcome to the fold, HelenJo.