Two friends and I moved into a house off campus when I was a junior at Iowa State University.

We were all a bit afraid of our landlord, a gruff middle aged man who was "all business" when we signed the lease.

He gave us a lecture about paying the rent on time and maintaining the house and appliances. We weren't really supposed to, but during the fall semester, my housemates and I threw a party.

We sent invitations to many friends and told everyone that we knew to come to our house on Friday night. We drew a large crowd and everyone had a great time. The last guests left in the wee hours of the morning.

Exhausted, we decided to sleep in and clean the house and yard the next morning. Well, you guessed it!

We were awakened about 7:00 a.m. by our landlord, who was knocking on the door. Sheepishly, we let him in, expecting to incur his wrath. Instead, he picked up a party invitation that had been laying on the sidewalk and asked, "Why didn't you girls invite me?"

He came into the house, made a minor repair, and spent a few minutes helping us pick up trash from the yard. We weren't quite sure what to make of our unexpected luck, but we were thrilled that our landlord had been so understanding.

A few months later, I made a mathematical error while balancing my checkbook and my bank soon notified me that I had bounced a check. I was mortified when I discovered that it was my rent check and that I had to notify my landlord.

I figured that he viewed my housemates and I as irresponsible after the party incident and this would prove him right. I was certain that he would evict me. Somehow, I mustered the courage to call him and explained what had happened.He said, "I have a daughter about your age, and the same thing happened to her once. Would you like to wait until next month and send a double payment then?" I've never forgotten our landlord's kindness and understanding.

He also taught me an important lesson about not judging a book by its cover. I'm proud to say that I have not bounced a check since (though I have thrown a few more parties)!

Two friends and I moved into a house off campus when I was a junior at Iowa State University.

We were all a bit afraid of our landlord, a gruff middle aged man who was "all business" when we signed the lease.

He gave us a lecture about paying the rent on time and maintaining the house and appliances. We weren't really supposed to, but during the fall semester, my housemates and I threw a party.

We sent invitations to many friends and told everyone that we knew to come to our house on Friday night. We drew a large crowd and everyone had a great time. The last guests left in the wee hours of the morning.

Exhausted, we decided to sleep in and clean the house and yard the next morning. Well, you guessed it!

We were awakened about 7:00 a.m. by our landlord, who was knocking on the door. Sheepishly, we let him in, expecting to incur his wrath. Instead, he picked up a party invitation that had been laying on the sidewalk and asked, "Why didn't you girls invite me?"

He came into the house, made a minor repair, and spent a few minutes helping us pick up trash from the yard. We weren't quite sure what to make of our unexpected luck, but we were thrilled that our landlord had been so understanding.

A few months later, I made a mathematical error while balancing my checkbook and my bank soon notified me that I had bounced a check. I was mortified when I discovered that it was my rent check and that I had to notify my landlord.

I figured that he viewed my housemates and I as irresponsible after the party incident and this would prove him right. I was certain that he would evict me. Somehow, I mustered the courage to call him and explained what had happened.He said, "I have a daughter about your age, and the same thing happened to her once. Would you like to wait until next month and send a double payment then?" I've never forgotten our landlord's kindness and understanding.

He also taught me an important lesson about not judging a book by its cover. I'm proud to say that I have not bounced a check since (though I have thrown a few more parties)!