Reminiscences written for the Laser History Project, which covers Hertzberg's early training, service in World War II, and his first interest in lasers in 1960-1961. Hertzberg describes his almost peripheral initial interest and how it blossomed into full-fledged experiments using borrowed or stolen equipment in his department at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, later work on laser gas implosions, the nitrogen-carbon dioxide gasdynamic laser, laser-induced implosions work and chemical laser work.