My parents, both of them, got me started when I was probably eleven or twelve. Mom always made dad think he was in charge, but she told him EVERY step to take, from starting the fire until whatever was done. This was back in the early 50's, when steak reigned supreme. Mom would call the butcher and order a BIG sirloin, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick, and that's what got grilled, usually for Saturday nights! Then they would go out dancing! We graduated into chickens (that's where I first learned to marinate chicken in Wishbone Italian Salad Dressing), to red snapper (dad made an annual trip to Guaymas, Mexico, and brought back a BIG catch--all flash frozen--we at them for quite a while), even putting a "round" of bologna on the spit and cooking it that way. I might add that they ended up with a BIG (for it's time) Charbroil cast iron grill. I'm still a Charbroil fan--have a 940X that is still my go to grill--my third CharBroil cast iron grated grill--the other two still in use. Now I do mostly ribs, chickens (yes, often with Wishbone Italian), briskets, chucks, pork loins, turkeys, LOTS of vegetables, some fruit. Guess my early start has kept me enthused.