Today while I was sifting through yet another box labeled “miscellaneous,” I stumbled upon two artifacts from my past.

The first was little ceramic elephant. Patricia King-Smith gave it to me when I was 19. I house-sat for her while she and Donald, her husband, went on a performance tour of Europe. The Smiths were duo-pianists, and Patricia was my piano teacher. When they returned from their travels, she gave me a few gifts from their ports of call. The elephant was from Cornwall. I loved it, because she gave it to me, and I loved her. It’s a miracle that, forty three years after she gave it to me, it still survives.

The second treasure I found was an old, beat-up black baseball cap with white piping along the brim, and the letters JSTB on the front. The acronym, or course, was that of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, where I received my Masters Degree.

My days at this Jesuit campus were some of the best in my memory. I loved the richness and diversity of being in an academic community with so many creative, passionate people. This beautiful setting allowed me to be intellectually and spiritually challenged, and to interact with and befriend students from all over the world, men and women and of all ages. Although JSTB was a pontifical institute, there were two other Catholic Universities, as well as institutions that allowed us to learn from the wisdom of Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Unitarian, Eastern Orthodox, Buddhist, Jewish and Islamic traditions. The GTU is a wonderful consortium. I am grateful for the time I was there.

I proudly wore my JSTB hat all afternoon while I sat sorting through a lot of things that were not nearly as interesting.

Tomorrow I will write more about Patricia Smith, a significant influence in my development as a young musician.