MSC’s 55-year history has been fascinating, exciting, and disappointing,all at the same time. This article attempts to highlight all those facetsfrom the personal viewpoint of someone who was a part of it for 12 years (1985-97) and has followed MSC’s course closely since then. Like the famous cartoon of 5 blind men trying to describe an elephant from where they are touching it, this overview is a mixture of facts and personal opinions and I encourage any reader to contact me at dennis.nagy@beyondcae.com with comments, more detailed back-stories, or different viewpoints.