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Prior to 1989, I had read the seminal works of 3 wonderful scholars all of whom by then were in the University of Maryland – College Park (UMD)!  When I joined UMD, Professors Thomas Schelling (April 14, 1921 – December 13, 2016), Mancur Olson (January 22, 1932 – February 19, 1998) and Julian Simon  (February 12, 1932 – February 8, 1998) were as welcoming and accessible as the best one may observe in the Ivy Leagues---others were less so. Despite presistent financial problems, UMD seemed to be experiencing a Golden Age in the early 1990s. Mancur introduced me to Tom, and a colleague from another university to Julian. I learned more during our regular lunch hours in the South Campus Dining Hall's Gazebo Room and the Faculty Club than any class or seminar I had ever attended in the graduate school. Later, I had the pleasure of serving with Tom on the Faculty Senate, where, I was the only one who voted for him to Chair the Senate at the time. Meeting these three generous & wise scholars led me to improve my way of thinking about issues related to  strategic behavior, institutional economics, natural resources, population, immigration, and economic development. It would be remiss of me if I did not mention the examples of their well-known and accessible writings/books that enrich and entertain curious minds:1) Schelling (1978): Micromotives and Macrobehavior2) Olson (1982): The Rise and Decline of Nations 3) Simon (1981): The Ultimate Resource