Just FYI, you didn't have use the $ to denote string variables from VB2 upwards. It had been a QBasic thing, pretty sure it ended up in VB1, and then was dropped. (though you could still optionally use it) Option Explicit... first line that should have been in every VB program.

I had an entire career built on developing back end tooling in VB for businesses, some of which (.. 25 years later?) are still doing their jobs. It was sometimes painful but it really did set a bar for quick productivity. Fond memories of those days!