Oohhh... nice thread.

I think I remember being in love with the accordion as a child, but I didn't have access to one then. And then at some point I completely forgot about that infatuation, and for years I thought accordions were cheesy (ha! silly me).

About two and a half years ago, Paul Oorts showed up at the local jam session here in my town with his continental chromatic box (like a piano accordion but with buttons on both sides, but not a "button box"). Paul's from Belgium and his playing has a bit of a European flavor.

I was enchanted, and I knew instantly that the accordion was "my instrument". A few months later I was given one by the local instument good fairy. It's been two years since I started playing and I'm more in love with it than ever. What an amazing instrument.