I remember staring at the moon, knowing that men were on it. It was such an awesome feeling. I was very young, but I also have faint memories of the Apollo 1 fire. I knew that brave men lost their lives. I get so angry with those who deny that accomplishment and basically throw dirt in the faces of those who sacrificed so much to get us to the moon.
I gave birth to my 2nd daughter on the day the rocket carrying them to the moon was launched. It was also my 3rd wedding anniversary. Then 4 days later, we were watching it on TV. It was beyond imagination that a human could be on a different planet, ( I know, it is a moon, but still, it isn't earth) It was as if all the scifi books and movies that were so impossible, just came true. It was magical. It was awe inspiring. Later, we went out and sat looking at the moon. We knew that we couldn't see anything except the moon, but we wanted to remember that night.
I was lucky enough to watch it happen live, and now I have actually found out why the ladder was so short, roughly 30 inches from the actual pad of the landers foot pad. (There were collapsible shock absorbers in each of the legs, the moon absorbed some of the shock and Neil put her down gently the softest landing of all the missions.)
Did Armstrong see aliens watching them from a nearby ridge?
Most likely not.