Tim and Jorie came to visit our family along with another friend, while we lived in Tokyo back in the summer of 2004. It was a lovely trip, we did all the fun stops in Tokyo such as going to several shrines, walking the Imperial Palace grounds, touring the thatched houses and the giant Buddha in Kamakura, enjoying the night life in Shibuya, and strolling through Yoyogi Park, just to name a few of our destinations.
Jorie and Tim really wanted to also have an authentic Japanese experience so we also went out to the countryside and stayed at a lovely ryokan. Now, this was a special ryokan in that it also had beautiful onsens or naturally hot mineral baths; a delightful experience for weary travelers and a very big part of the Japanese culture. When we arrived to the ryokan we immediately realized that we were in way over our heads! Unfortunately, none of us, including myself who had already lived in Japan for a year, had the level of Japanese language expertise to really understand what in the world we were supposed to do!
There was apparently a schedule for when we could use the baths and there were specific rules for how we would go about accessing them, and we had arrived to the ryokon late. We had no clue when our schedule was, how to wear the yukata, what to wear under the yukata, how to properly bathe for the onsen, where the men go, where the women go, etc. Once we got to our rooms, I called a friend of mine who had been living in Japan for nearly ten years and she walked us through the protocols. I shared these with the Ellis's and we all decided to meet downstairs after changing into our yukatas (wearing nothing but our birthday suits underneath).
On our way to our meeting spot in the lobby the four of us somehow met, by coincidence, on the elevator. So, here we are, one guy (Tim) with three women, all friends, all standing alone on an elevator in a completely different culture, and all of us knowing that the only thing separating our nakedness from the world (and each other) was a thin, beautiful cotton kimono called a yukata. We all looked at each other realizing this, and burst into uncontrollable laughter. Here we were, clueless and mostly-naked, incorrectly wearing these beautiful yukatas and standing awkwardly in our slippers... it was absolutely hilarious! What a sight we must have been!
Of all the unique and fun experiences I had in the four years while living in Japan, this was among the most memorable. I'll never forget Tim's acceptance of being completely vulnerable with Jorie and two of her friends in this very funny, once in a lifetime situation. Tim's laughter and smile was unforgettable on the elevator that day.
What a remarkable man and friend. Weldon and I miss you, Tim.