When William Bayne met Dave Bailey a few decades ago, he had no idea that the man also known as ”Doc” would tell him true tales that would one day inspire him to write a book.
The tome, called “A Desert In Bloom,” is part philosophical, part true story, and all heartfelt by Bayne, who wrote the modern day “On The Road” in honor of Bailey, with whom he was friends until Bailey’s passing in the 1990s.
“This is the first book I’ve written,” said Bayne. “I was a documentarian for a long time and made films. I have had a lot of occupations, like most people who grew up. I went from radio DJ to art director to drawing comic books to all these other different things. I ended up in advertising back in the golden age…through that the school of not-so-hard knocks. I ended up directing television commercials for a long time.”
After working for well-known national commercial campaigns including those that featured Florence Henderson for Wesson, as well as kitty litter, Orville Redenbacher, John Madden, and others, Bayne decided to take a different approach to life.
“I found myself one day wishing my behavior was better and that my attitude was better, back to when I was happiest and it went back to when I was around horses,” said Bayne.
Bayne was looking for more equestrian therapy when he found himself driving along Perimeter Road and spotted a simple sign: Horse 4 Sale. The 4 was backward.
Intrigued, he stopped in and met Bailey who he didn’t know at the time would change his life forever.
He didn’t end up buying the horse, but his solid relationship would shape what has now become “A Desert In Bloom,” which Bayne said is a “partially” true story.
“He was just such a fascinating man,” said Bayne of Bailey. “A lot of people knew him as Doc Bailey, and a lot of people knew him as Pop. He came here in the ‘30s out of the dust bowl in the Great Depression, with his folks, in a circuitous route. They were fleeing the dust bowl and went through Arizona. They lived out in the desert in small towns. He used to ride the rails when that was a thing and trap horses when that was a thing. He ended up here because he was a gold miner in the heyday of the gold mines. There’s a whole chapter in the book that is completely underground.”
Bayne said his original intention when pursuing the book project was to reflect on the time he spent with Bailey, often on road trips. Bayne would hit “record” on his tape recorder and simply listen to Bailey’s accounts of his life and its many adventures.
“He was a much older man than me, and I was transitioning into documentaries at that time from commercials,” said Bayne. “I had sold so much soap and so much kitty litter and so much else, I wanted to be a true creative. He and I fell in together and we used to travel a little bit. We used to travel all over the west. At that time I was still working on my documentary chops and equipment and what not. He was a great storyteller.”
Bailey has long since passed, but it’s all Bayne can do to keep his stories alive and help preserve the memories of those who witnessed Nevada County history and beyond.
Bayne said he doesn’t quite know how to articulate what “A Desert In Bloom” is about, but there’s no doubt he knows its inspiration — and will never forget him.
“It’s sort of in the vein of a ‘Lonesome Dove’ or James Michener’s ‘Hawaii,’” Bayne said. “It’s kind of a family saga. It goes across about 100 years; it crosses decades. He was around for the change in the west. His dad went with his dad’s dad and ate dog with the chiefs back in Oklahoma. That’s how they went to town. His dad was a mechanic and worked on the big diesels as they built dams. He saw the natural world change. A lot about this book is about the destruction of the natural world and how natural history and human history have a tendency to bump heads.”
Though he can’t put a finger on what the book is truly about, Bayne said his many years of work on the tome have been heartfelt, a symbol of respect for Dave Bailey, who was his main inspiration.
“He had a way of telling stories that are much better than I ever could,” Bayne said. “A lot of his dialogue is lifted right out of his mouth because I had the tape recorder running on the seat beside me. My job was to tell the stories of his travels, to see history kind of woven from the past to the present. Some people ask, what makes it relevant? Well, it’s kind of an adventure. It’s kind of a philosophical and historical document, so take your pick. Come for the food, stay for the pie.”
To purchase “A Desert In Bloom” please visit The Bookseller in Grass Valley, Harmony Books in Nevada City, and Amazon.com.