Tommi believed she could do anything, and had set out at age eighteen to prove it. As her mother taught her, “Life is short and the world is large.” And with this in mind, she found herself on a mountain road in Japan headed for the secluded Hotel Omodaka. It was the next thing on her list. Not a bucket list. She hated that term. It was so…finite. A beginning that ended with kicking the bucket. Not her. She simply kept a “life list” and grew it daily. “She who dies with the longest list wins,” she told friends. “Do as many as possible. No limits”
“Visit a hot spring in Japan” was her current undertaking. The logical next item was “Learn Japanese.” But being reasonable with her goals, Tommi did not set out to master the Japanese language. Any amount would do.
“Kon'nichiwa,” she said many times since arriving in Tokyo, but quickly realized that English would not be an impediment on her journey. Still, it was fun practicing the language, and the smiles it evoked among new friends along the way suggested that her American accent was both amusing and welcome. Arigatō was polite in any tongue.
The timing of her current endeavor left something to be desired, but it was too late to change her plans now. Winter in Japan was not unlike winter in Michigan, the place she originally called home. Moving to Key West had slowly changed her. Acclimating to a different climate was not something that happened quickly.
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