Time Travel

While driving out to Brentwood last week to meet a friend for lunch, I was amazed at how quickly I moved from suburb to rural landscape. I drive out on Marsh Creek Road from Walnut Creek. I do this for a number of reasons: it's faster, less congested and more beautiful than the alternatives. I also think the area on the morning side of Mt. Diablo, there in Morgan Territory, has changed less than the surrounding communities.

The day I was going out was sunny between rainstorms. The hills were green to the extreme and the mud-caked cattle, actually furry from the winter, were fat and still eating. They just dot the hills in this valley and despite the many trails they leave, they don't seem to be causing any damage. Old farmhouses and ranches outnumber the newer "villas."

It took me a little over a half an hour to get to downtown Brentwood, still quaint and sleepy. I thought about how lucky I am to live where I do. I can get out of the densely populated area where I live in a matter of minutes either in the car, on a bike or on foot. The drive to Brentwood transports me each time I make it. I know I'm heading out to where my food is grown. It seems like another age in that little valley on the way.


Painting by Paul Buxman