  This paper describes my personal appreciation for some of the great research
achievements of Mitya Diakonov, Vitya Petrov, and Maxim Polyakov and how my own
research career has followed the paths they opened. Among the topics where they
have been the most influential have been the pursuit and study of the exotic
pentaquark. The search for exotics may require a complementary approach, such
as experimental and theoretical activity. Here, I would like to focus on a
story of $N(1680)$ in which I was involved.
