by Jeff Osgood
The old man rose from his lawn chair, walked to the bank of Medano Creek, faced the buckskin rises of Great Sand Dunes National Park, and began to quote scripture. He flawlessly recited words about water coming to a dry land, life coming from a place of death, all through the divine will of The Almighty. His family, kids and adults alike looked on, rapt. Other onlookers appeared puzzled, some even mildly disturbed by the impromptu sermon. When finished, the man returned to his chair and went back to watching kids splash in the spring runoff of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. His words drifted off with the ever-pervasive winds of the San Luis Valley and the people who heard them were left to return to their own thoughts and distractions.