When William Bayne met Dave Bailey a few decades ago, he had no idea that the man also known as \u201dDoc\u201d would tell him true tales that would one day inspire him to write a book.<\/p>\n
The tome, called \u201cA Desert In Bloom,\u201d is part philosophical, part true story, and all heartfelt by Bayne, who wrote the modern day \u201cOn The Road\u201d in honor of Bailey, with whom he was friends until Bailey\u2019s passing in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first book I\u2019ve written,\u201d said Bayne. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d said Bayne.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Intrigued, he stopped in and met Bailey who he didn\u2019t know at the time would change his life forever.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t end up buying the horse, but his solid relationship would shape what has now become \u201cA Desert In Bloom,\u201d which Bayne said is a \u201cpartially\u201d true story.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was just such a fascinating man,\u201d said Bayne of Bailey. \u201cA lot of people knew him as Doc Bailey, and a lot of people knew him as Pop. He came here in the \u201830s 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\u2019s a whole chapter in the book that is completely underground.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u201crecord\u201d on his tape recorder and simply listen to Bailey\u2019s accounts of his life and its many adventures.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a much older man than me, and I was transitioning into documentaries at that time from commercials,\u201d said Bayne. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey has long since passed, but it\u2019s all Bayne can do to keep his stories alive and help preserve the memories of those who witnessed Nevada County history and beyond.<\/p>\n
Bayne said he doesn\u2019t quite know how to articulate what \u201cA Desert In Bloom\u201d is about, but there\u2019s no doubt he knows its inspiration \u2014 and will never forget him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sort of in the vein of a \u2018Lonesome Dove\u2019 or James Michener\u2019s \u2018Hawaii,\u2019\u201d Bayne said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s dad and ate dog with the chiefs back in Oklahoma. That\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though he can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a way of telling stories that are much better than I ever could,\u201d Bayne said. \u201cA 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\u2019s kind of an adventure. It\u2019s kind of a philosophical and historical document, so take your pick. Come for the food, stay for the pie.\u201d<\/p>\n