James Decker

Essays From West of 98: Reading Wendell, Part 1 Exploring West of 98's influences with a Wendell Berry reading list

It shares what brought me to Wendell Berry and my top 3 reads:

Jayber Crow
The Unsettling of America
The Work of Local Culture

Read and subscribe here: westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...

Periodically, folks ask me for Wendell Berry reading recommendations. Today at #WestOf98, I’m offering just that.

I’m launching a recurring series on the influences that have shaped my perspective on the world.

Essays From West of 98: A Restatement 2025 Affirming the principles of West of 98 and the reasons for its existence

It’s a tale involving yes, Wendell Berry, but there’s more: Aldo Leopold, Allan Savory, John Graves, Larry McMurtry, Wallace Stegner, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, and Paul Kingsnorth.

Read it here: westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...

Essays From West of 98: A Restatement 2025 Affirming the principles of West of 98 and the reasons for its existence

This essay explores my developing view of the world shaped by the 98th Meridian, the Gospel of Luke, and my dissatisfaction with toxic politics that took me on a different path for improving rural places.

This time last year, I asked myself “why are you the way that you are?” and I wrote about it at #Westof98.

I haven’t had this problem, but I’ve had problems with Venmo in the past and their customer service could not be less helpful.

You practically have to scam their automated phone system to get to a life person, and then the outcome is almost guaranteed to be <shrugs>

Essays From West of 98: Education and Work School, Labor Day, and Community Ecology

Link: westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...

Today at #Westof98, I’m tackling two important topics: education and work.

It is impossible to discuss one without the other, when our nation’s education system was built to churn out workers.

So what happens when that same nation begins to deprioritize workers?

If Mike Leach was still around, he would devote 15 minutes in his weekly press conference to this. And like 10 more minutes to a random Sonny Dykes story.

Essays From West of 98: Cowboy Town 2025 On creating a community event that lasts through the eras

Read it here: westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...

Happy Independence Day! For 95 years, July 4 in #StamfordTexas has centered around preserving and perpetuating our western heritage. The 95th annual Texas Cowboy Reunion is underway, and at #Westof98, I’m sharing an essay that I wrote about the history and legacy of this event.

A Sabbath Poem by Wendell Berry
—This one goes out to everybody who fought for our public lands and let their voices be heard by those in power

Rather than just gripe, I wrote a letter to my elected officials about our responsibility for public lands and a better solution to provide more housing in our nation.

You can read it and download the letter at #Westof98: westof98.substack.com/p/public-lan...

There is before the United States Congress a proposal to sell public lands to help solve our national housing crisis. I am bothered by this proposal.

Essays From West of 98: Freedom’s Continuous Journey 2025 Considering the long arc of freedom across history

Read more at #Westof98:

westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...

Today, on June 19, 2025, we celebrate Juneteenth as a national holiday. We celebrate in an America that is flawed but always struggling forward. By pushing onward, we acknowledge that freedom is a continuous journey worth pursuing every single day!

Got asked to fill in and teach the adult Sunday school class at church today.

It was a direct quote from the great Old Testament scholar Ellen Davis in this book, but I definitely used the line, “adultery is for Hosea a favorite metaphor for economic irresponsibility.”

There’s also a surprisingly large number of people in America who do not understand why a person might want to change their hair color and they NEED you to know that they DO NOT understand. As I recently discovered when dyeing my hair a bold new color for the first time.

@cait.bluesky.social

Essays From West of 98: A Memorial Honoring those who laid down their lives

Read about it, and a proclamation from 1868 that I chose for the reading, at #Westof98:

westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...

Essays From West of 98: A Memorial Honoring those who laid down their lives

I am uncomfortable with the word “celebrate” when Memorial Day is involved. This week, we marked the holiday by “honoring” our local war dead at our second annual Decoration Day ceremony.

Ag policies matter to everyone. When your entire community relies on agriculture to succeed, it's different. @mrbimpact.bsky.social talked with w/ @jamesdecker2006.bsky.social, Mayor of Stamford, TX, about his letter of ideas and action items to improve America's ag industry to @USDA @SecRollins.

Haven’t fully invested yet, but checking it all out. Good to see you, buddy!

For Mental Health Awareness Month, I explore the meaning of the scene and the importance of channeling romantic heroism in meaningful ways.

Read it at #Westof98: westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...

Essays From West of 98: Tragic and Alone Romantic heroism as a caution

It’s one of the most iconic scenes in cinema. John Wayne, as Ethan Edwards, rescues his niece from captivity and then stands alone in the doorway, set apart from the family.

It’s also deeply tragic. He’s lost his spirit of family and community.

This must be a new Adobe update because it just started on me too. It was doing it on 5 page PDFs.

@mrbimpact.bsky.social is joined by West of 98 James M. Decker for a wide-ranging conversation, including his letter to @USDA @SecRollins. Listen wherever you get your podcasts & subscribe. https://tinyurl.com/mr47pca4

The only guarantee here is that the Dems won’t make him work for anything. They’ll be stern and somber on cable news though.

Essays From West of 98: The Gardener A perpetual, intentional calling

Read more at #Westof98: westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...

Mary Magdalene first thought the resurrected Jesus as a gardener. Was it a mistake? I’m not sure that it was.

For the entire history of man, God has called us to tend and keep his creation. And so perhaps the gardener imagery is a reminder of how we should live our lives.

Essays From West of 98: Returning to The Table The memory of an important cultural institution

Read more at #Westof98: westof98.substack.com/p/essays-fro...