Ok, with all this reminiscing going on I'll add mine. I was in the air force stationed at Mt. Home in Idaho during the time of Apollo 11 but a couple of weeks before the launch I was sent to a military hospital in California for some minor surgery. Had a lot of time on my hands there so I sent a letter to the astronauts wishing them luck and noting something to the effect that when they stepped off on to the lunar surface it might be a small step for them but a really big one for civilization. Fast forward to 20 July and I was at home in Elko on medical leave and glued to the television for the landing. You might guess my surprise when I heard Armstrong say those famous words that sure sounded a lot to me like the words I'd sent him. So for years I went around thinking that just maybe I'd had something to do with what he said (see, I even had a ego back then <grin>). It wasn't until a few years ago that I heard Armstrong being interviewed about the mission and someone asked how he'd come up with his "One small step..." lines. I don't remember exactly what he said just that whatever he said it ruled out any connection with my letter. Sigh... Kim Hyatt wrote:
About that time I figured it might be more fun to build working rockets than plastic models, so my friend and I retired to the garage for some clandestine design and rocket construction. We did have a few from-scratch solid fuel rocket successes. (Ground match heads and sparklers for fuel, cardboard tube body, and dime with a hole drilled in it for a nozzle.)
Regarding the house in Elko I mentioned, to this day it has a dent in the front porch railing where one of my attempts at a home made rocket engine went awry. And I bet that if you look closely enough in the kitchen you might find evidence of the skillet full of home made rocket fuel that decided to ignite while I was cooking it on the stove. (Kids, don't try that at home!)
Our rocketry career only got about 20 feet off the ground, though - kind of hovered for a few seconds before descending into the Ellingson's yard and starting the dry grass in the backyard on fire.
Sounds like you and Robert Goddard have something in common. If memory serves, his first attempt at flying a liquid fuel rocket ended with the neighbor's field alight.
Oh, Chuck, Rob: I still have my unfinished plastic model of a Gemini capsule. (Well, actually, I never started it.) I think I got it for Christmas in 1965. I thought it might be fun to finally build the Gemini model with my 7-year-old son. If the box is still sealed you may have a lot of $$$ on your hands. Try EBay! :-)
Ok, Mr. Peabody it's time to set the Wayback Machine (http://www.toonopedia.com/peabody.htm) to 2005 so we can get home. Patrick