Tribute to Kolb

As I read the article in the December 15, 2006, issue on the life and recent death of Dr. Lawrence Kolb, I was struck by Dr. Alfred Freeman's comment: “He was always a helpful person.” This simple description brought to mind a brief but exceptionally meaningful encounter that I once had with Dr. Kolb that occurred over 25 years ago in Los Angeles as I was taking the oral board certification examination in psychiatry.

Having inter viewed the patient, I found myself at the mercy of two very intelligent, highly energetic, but somewhat sadistic examiners who were skewering my attempts to present the case as I struggled to answer their questions. Amid this downwardly spiraling situation, Dr. Kolb calmly entered the room and sat down. As the examiners paused in deference, he diplomatically inserted himself into the process and took control. With a kindness I'll never forget, he effortlessly led me through the case, exploring areas and asking questions that allowed me to demonstrate what I knew as he sporadically shared interesting and relevant bits of his own experience.

The entire encounter seemed almost miraculously transformed from one of uneasy intimidation to that of respectful interaction. At the conclusion of the exam, there were a twinkle in his eye and a barely discernable smile on his face (not unlike his expression in the photograph accompanying the article) that indicated that I had done O.K. So I would just like to reaffirm Dr. Freeman's observation that Dr. Kolb truly “was always a helpful person.”