Appreciate your personal story about why you do this hobby! I'm sure many of us have similar "Once upon a time..."
I should dig up an early picture, Deal Wheels with cardboard garage diorama displays. I grew up in Tucson, there was a hobby shop on Speedway (if I recall correctly), the classic packed, stand alone building that wasn't a chain store. I entered my first contest there. That's where I discovered real model paint, Pactra had the correct Africa Korps color. Many of the Bandai WW2 models I got at Kmart, for about $2-$3! Attached is the big diorama I made, I still have the models packed in boxes.
I'm still a kid at heart.