My Hometown in 500 Words or Less

In a town of exceedingly educated hippy types, community gardens, animal rights activists, and with a love for bicycles likely unsurpassed anywhere else in the world, my hometown was a place I wasn’t quite sure about growing up.  We ate at communes, and planted in community gardens. We recycled, composted, and shunned the use of plastic bags long before it was anywhere close to cool. People-powered transportation, electric cars, and solar-powered houses were coveted. By the time we could flush, our parents had us chanting, “If its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down!” But in my years of self-absorption and insecurities, I left this place behind as I chased an ideal of suburban normalcy.

The warm glow of a late summer evening paints the ancient olive trees and wide-open, dusty fields in the golden hues I love so much this time of year. My nose it tickled by the wonderfully familiar bouquet of over-ripe tomatoes, cow manure, and the nutty-fermentation of fallen olives as we ride through the hot breeze towards campus. The salad that I’ve prepared rattles noisily in the basket attached to my handlebars, as the tires of my 1950’s cruiser bump awkwardly over the asphalt bike path that has been tormented by the central valley’s unrelenting summertime temperatures.  The path veers to the right, hugging the edge of a field used by the UC Davis Ag Department in their quest to create new plant varieties that are better suited to our changing climate. The path turns again, left this time, guiding us up and over Highway 113, before depositing us at the western edge of Orchard Road.

Plots of tilled land, ripe with giant sunflowers and summer produce welcome us. We stand in a circle around the fire pit at the center of the Domes, hands clasped.  “Give thanks to the sun and to this beautiful earth…to the love of our brothers and sisters, and to the wonder of the human spirit. May this food nourish our bodies, our minds, and our spirits. Let’s eat!”

The rhythm of bongo drums and the tantalizing flames of a bonfire mix effortlessly with home grown food and homemade wine to settle conversations into fantastic soundboards of creativity. A little girl twirls and flutters. Some faces are new, some simply more weathered and wise. “Welcome home, kid.” Rick asserts, as he lowers himself next to me. His small dark eyes are intense and loving behind his signature round glasses; his hair as wild as ever. Hugging my knees into my chest, I grin, concede, and let belonging embrace me.

Come Visit: The Domes (also known as Baggins End) are a student co-op located on the UC Davis campus. Chickens, community gardens, tree forts and rope swings, greenhouses, and the infamous Bike Church make up one of the nicest pieces of land on campus. All are welcome for the vegetarian potluck dinner that residents and community members host Monday-Thursday at 7pm (6pm in the winter).