Has it really been 40 years since Neil Armstrong took his small step?

I was almost 5 years old when it happened, and remember it fairly well. It was one of those events that parents made children watch the TV to witness. We were getting used to rocket launches and space flight, but a trip to the surface of the moon was somehow different.

I recall the grainy black and white TV footage and crackling audio.

My first task as a young scientist was to observe this for myself. I went out and looked at the moon and looked to see if I could see a lunar lander. I didn't see one clearly, but there were moments that I thought I saw a lunar lander up there. I wanted to see it up there, and wanted to see the orbiter circling around waiting.

A few months after they returned, my grandfather sent me a package with about 5 poster-sized photos of the original moonwalk. They were gorgeous NASA photos with crisp details. I assume he got them due to some connections he had at Met Life where he worked. Maybe he just bought them. In either case, they were great.

These were pictures to study. Staring at the footprints in the moon dust, looking at the capsule sitting on the surface, or figuring out out the flag was kept up with a little rod were daily exercises for quite a while.

The beautiful, glossy photos made for an excellent show and tell at school. Everyone was interested in astronauts.

We all wanted to go to the moon, or to ride on rockets to outer space. There weren't a lot of space movies back then, so we had to use our imagination.

Mr. Ramsey, an older neighbor who built models of planes and ships in bottles, called me over one day. "I'm getting a model of the Apollo rocket" he said. "It'll be as big as you!"

To my eager and not-quite-listening ear, I heard "It will be big enough FOR you." which immediately set my mind racing. Could it really be that he's going to build a rocket big enough for me?

Well, he built it. And it was as big as me. The top of my head was about even with the top of the model.

But it wasn't big enough FOR me. The landing module was only a few inches big. I tried to hide my disappointment when he showed me the completed work and I realized I wouldn't be launching anytime soon.

The following decade saw more launches and each one was as exciting as the next to us kids. I got myself a few Estes model rocket kits, too, for personal experimentation.

In high school, we moved to the Gulf coast of Florida. I was amazed that we could see Space Shuttle launches from across the state - a small silver tip flying high with a trail of exhaust behind it.

A reporter and photographer from my mother's paper decided to go over for one of the launches and I got permission to tag along. The reporter got a press pass and went on to the VIP area at the Cape.

The photographer and I were stuck in a public parking lot on the edge of the property, sans car. We ended up hitchhiking to the public viewing area when it was opened and caught a ride with one of the designers of the heat-protection tiles. (He told us you could heat the tiles until they were glowing red hot, then still pick them up by the edges with your fingers due to their design.)

We stayed up all night and listened to the countdown. The flight was scrubbed eventually and we had to go home without a close-up launch viewing, but the experience was great. There were thousands of others who had been drawn to the same location for the same thing - to see a rocket blast off into space. Some had telescopes on stands, others had fancy cameras and enormous lenses, some were set up like they were at a concert or car race with food, seats, and other comforts.

The lesson we kids learned from adults going to the moon might best be described as "with enough work, anything is possible." I think many who are my age get frustrated when were are told something can't be done. We know it can be done. We went to the moon.