We took the campers to the same historical site as last time (Awatovi), but there was a different guide showing us around. It was nice to hear another perspective on the destruction of the city, and I'm starting to think that this is a litmus test for Hopi religions. The Christian Hopis tend to frame the story as a Sodom and Gomorra redux. The city was destroyed because its residents were living in sin. Period. The traditional Hopis seem to imply that the city was destroyed because it had sold out its sister cities by accepting the Spanish, and adopting their religion. Two divergent takes on what is clearly a difficult subject.
After camp, I went to a second volunteer gig; I'm coaching youth soccer (I know, I was just as surprised as you). But it didn't go quite as expected. The weather was pretty crappy, and this was the first time that soccer was being played at the site that I was assigned to. I think that the combination of the two conspired against me, and no one showed. Not a one. Not even the other coach, who happens to be the former Miss Hopi. I think that once I get back under Verizon's digital umbrella, there will be a message waiting for me about canceling practice.
And speaking of the former Miss Hopi, I actually already knew her from a couple of years ago. I had been booked as the MC for the Public Health diversity talent show. That is, I was booked, until I got bumped at the last minute, so that a certain current Miss Hopi could have the job. We have an old beef. A lot of good jokes died that day.
Anyway, after I was pretty sure that no one was showing (since there was zero chance that anyone would have not seen a 6'6" white guy with a soccer ball), I called off the practice of one. And I was hardly disappointed, since I had a little panic on the drive over. I realized that I didn't know the first thing about soccer. Or coaching. And to make matters worse, I kept shanking the ball out of the field every time I tried to kick it during warm up. It was not going to be pretty.
I got back in my car, and I went over to the other site that soccer was being played at. This site was much more established, and had been hosting the informal league for several years. There were players galore, and a ton of parents cheering and laughing on the sidelines. Seeing the grownups on the side of the field made me think about two things: 1) These are some very supportive parents, and 2) there is not much to do in this town. But the level of soccer was pretty adorable, and I'll take some pictures to show you next week.
-M
P.S. It's official, I'll be spinning some Tucson favorites on the radio this Thursday from 3-5pm. That's right, no 2am slot for this guy. You can listen online here.
