So it's Sunday. I always go to church on Sunday, so this morning, after walking to the store for donuts, Dave and I went to church. Let me just say something about these Tucsonians: they are very optimistic. On the way to the store we crossed over the "river". Many businesses and establishments had names with "River" or "Rio" in them. Yesterday when we crossed over the river, it was sand. Today, since there were storms last night (it is monsoon season...) there was a muddy creek flowing.

Let me just mention that I grew up in St. Louis at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, and a bed of sand that occasionally has some water trickling through it doesn't really mesh with my notion of a river. Like I said, these Tucsonites are very optimistic. But water is a very important thing in a desert, so I suppose it makes sense to use encouraging language when speaking to your "rivers" to motivate them to become everything they can be.

Anyway, so then we went to Mass at a little church down the road apiece. Mostly unremarkable, although the sermon did keep our attention and speak some truth.

After Mass we went to the Mission San Xavier Del Bac, where Dave and I had a philosophical discussion about the merits of seventeenth and eighteenth century European religious, architectural, and political viewpoints being foisted upon the unfortunate members of the Tohono O'odham. We eventually arrived at the conclusion that clearly we live in the best of all possible worlds, and everything is for the best.

On the way back from the mission we ate Sonoran hot dogs at a little stand next to a trailer park. They were good.