008 - They Might Be (1 - Brentwood)
The Last Apricot Tree Under the Mountain
The official sign upon entering Brentwood read population 3600, but there were a lot more people than that. There were the communities of Oakley, Byron, Knightsen and Bethel Island. And then all of the people in between. There were even some crazy people cutting new levies east of Byron to build a boating community called Discovery Bay. We thought, “but who would ever buy out there?” They have their own zip code now. That’s what I know about real estate.
So back in the late 60’s and early 70’s we were only ‘kind of’ small out in far east Contra Costa County. I think we were just big enough so you couldn’t know everyone, but if you did someone wrong, everyone would know! My Dad was one of a couple of dentists, but he was the new guy. He served all of these little communities.
As we would drive around doing errands, getting our hair cut at the barber, going to a school activity or on the way to church (lots of church), he would always be waving. I was amazed at how many people he knew. He is 89 and still a waving and ‘Hi, how are you’ fool. He can’t stop. At some point I figured out that there was no way he knew all those people
When I got closer to being a teenager and enjoyed flexing my ‘mouthing off’ muscles, I was making fun of him one day for all the waving. Maybe I was a little embarrassed as well. This is the wisdom he laid on me:
“Jeff, you’re right. I don’t know everyone and I don’t remember all of my patients. But they might be a patient. Or they might be from Rotary. Or they might be from the Parents Club. Or they might be from the church. Or they might be the bagger at the grocery store. Or they might be our milkman. Or they might be the guy that helped me at the hardware store. Or they might be a teacher, or your teacher from a couple of years ago. Or they might just need a smile and a wave. This is one way of making Brentwood a great place to live.”
And ever since that day, I have been a waving fool. Just to show I am my own man, I have added a head nod.
Editorial and Advance Reader Contributors: Mark Wallace, Alisha Price, Heather Bergevin of Barrow Editing, Mette Ivie, Bonnie Wach, Francoise Boden, Mark Berg, Mike Hammer and Kathy Toelkes. Special thanks to Bill Davis for a kick in the pants that only a friend from your old stomping grounds can give you. Mt. Diablo and Apricot Tree painting by the talented and local artist, Greg Hart.