Towers of peace and silos of war

Sunday, March 20, 2011

TUCSON, AZ — Exactly one month ago to day, we left Ottawa on our Arizona trip. So far, it has been a wonderful experience, and there’s plenty more in store! We feel so fortunate to be doing this!

It was a leisurely beginning to the day, since the mass at the San Xavier de Bac mission didn’t start until 11 o’clock. The mission is an early Spanish church, with brilliant white towers, one domed and one not, and we could easily see it from afar against the dusty sand of the desert. It was built in the late 1700s and is still an active parish, as well as a popular tourist destination.

There were lots of cars in the parking lot and people in the pews when we arrived. I managed to find one seat against the wall with just enough room for my feet, if I tucked them in behind the base of a pillar. Poor Val had to remain standing behind for the whole service! Behind the altar was a heavily decorated alcove with figures of Christ, San Xavier and others, and the walls and ceiling displayed decorative patterns, angels, and biblical scenes. The church is called the Sistine Chapel of North America, but I think Michelangelo would be spinning in his grave if he knew his masterpiece in Rome was equated with these interesting but far more primitive paintings.

We had packed a lunch, which we ate in the parking lot before continuing south to Tubac, the site of Arizona’s earliest European settlement, established in 1752 by Spanish explorers. The ruins of the Tubac Presidio, or fort, are there, tended by local volunteers who staff the small gift shop and museum. Archeological digs located coins, pottery and other artifacts from the early days, and we were able to see, in the underground museum, parts of the original foundation.

The area had been inhabited by natives who subsisted through farming, and were later invaded by Apaches. Spanish missionaries tried to establish a settlement and convert the natives but, with the Apache threat, soon realized a fortification would be necessary to protect the community. Tubac had its ups and downs, but managed to survive, and is now a thriving place for artisans and artists. Many shops and boutiques are clustered near the former presidio, selling jewelry, pottery, mesquite furniture, paintings, glassworks, quilts — the whole range. I laughed when we passed one place, a cigar shop, with two signs that said “Daddy Day Care” and “Husband Drop Off Point”; they clearly know who the shoppers are and who they aren’t!

Our final destination, as the sun moved toward the west, was the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley, just south of Tucson. It is the only remaining nuclear missile launch silo of the more than 50 that were set up during the Cold War to defend the free world. We caught the last tour of the day, and saw the now-disabled rocket, sunk deep into the earth in a concrete-and-steel lined silo where the walls are eight feet thick and the rebar that reinforces the concrete is up to two inches in diameter. Our guide explained the elaborate precautions set in place to guarantee that no launch could possibly occur by accident. Everything required at least two people to set things in motion, and codes within codes ensured an extremely high level of security.

It was an impressive facility, but sobering at the same time, to think that humankind had reached a point in its recent history where the complete annihilation of the world was within its grasp. It was sad that millions of dollars and months of designing, conception and construction had to be devoted to such a totally destructive end, but for the United States at least, it was done in a spirit of self-defense and preservation. I wonder if our present generation has any idea how close we came to the brink in the early 1960s.