I crossed paths with SMU at 7. Summer of '68, my family camped in the apartment at the NW corner of Airline and Daniel (still there). Dad was getting a Master's of biology; Fondren Hall was familiar for us. Strolling its halls one day, I asked "Daddy, can I go to SMU one day?"--"Well, son, SMU is a rich kid's school." I loved SMU and its campus nonetheless. Often I looked out the upstairs apartment window onto the space where Airline parking and Simmons Halls now exist. We left SMU at summer's end to begin a life journey in Mississippi where Dad became a collegiate professor. Summer of '88, I moved to Fort Worth to begin my IT career. In '98, I received a brochure about the MLS (began 1968). Remembering Dad's SMU cost caution, I read it with mild interest but discovered it was affordable. "Life" happened for a decade, but I applied and was accepted fall of 2011. Morals of this story: 1) fate can be like an enchilada and fold deliciously back onto you 2) SMU is not just for rich kids.