Ned,
I got my first 500C police toy helicopter when I was 6 years old, which instantly became my favorite toy for years. Growing up outside of big cities, any helicopter coming by was the air ambulance, and I guess I have never missed any of them ;-)
When I got close to finish school, I understood that it was possible to become a helicopter pilot without being some sort of superhero, so I decided to give it a try. That is over 20 years ago, and never looked back since. 👍🏻