I have to admit I didn't read every post in this thread but in case someone didn't already mention it, my club, like many others, will let you come out and "try" flying to see if you like it. Our club president spends most of his time teaching people to fly and will give people who are sitting on the fence a chance to fly on the buddy box, if they're interested. Granted, it's not as flippant as I'm making it out to be.
My advise to you is to find a local club and go visit. Someone is bound to let you give it a try on the buddy-box.