The Prairie Panicle No. 8
The Prairie Panicle No. 8
The newest interesting items from the prairie
Got something you’d like to share or recommend for the Panicle? Email, text, or find me on the social media apps.
Interesting and Unexpected?
I dyed my hair blonde. No, seriously. I should write more about this later in the summer, but most of our high school baseball team went blonde together last week as team bonding for the state playoffs. I thought it would be fun for the mayor to join them. I planned to do it next week, but the community support for this idea was so enthusiastic and I was admittedly so eager to try it out that that I pulled the trigger earlier today. When the bleach hit my hair and I saw it start to lighten up, I knew there was no turning back. I settled in and enjoyed the process at my friend’s Felicia’s downtown Stamford salon. A short time later, it was done. My light brown hair has been replaced with the blondest of blonde hair!
I’ve only been blonde for about 8 hours when this is published, but I’ll say without a doubt that I’m glad I took the plunge. I’ve already had numerous requests to add Stamford Bulldog Blue highlights during football season. Being Mayor is hard work. The goals are lofty and challenging. The daily grind can be stressful and anxiety-inducing. But sometimes, the mayoral role can be that of a fun community booster! I embrace the fun opportunities where they arise. So now, my hair is platinum blonde. It will necessarily stay platinum blonde for a while. I love it. We’ll see what’s next for my hair after this (it may not be back to natural anytime soon), but above all, this is a reminder that life is short, so let’s enjoy it.
West of 98 Store
The West of 98 bookstore at Bookshop.org now has three lists: my Top Texas Books, all the books referenced on the Rural Church and State podcast, and a catch-all Essential West of 98 reads. I’m hoping to steadily convert and expand that final list into a series of lists categorized by topic, as my time allows. We’ve sold several books so far (perhaps more than I anticipated) and I greatly appreciate the support! The commission on these purchases go towards towards the West of 98 project. Even if you never buy my recommendations, do your online book shopping at Bookshop! Their profits support independent bookstores. Amazon doesn’t need more money.
What I’ve Written
It was Earth Day shortly after the last edition of The Prairie Panicle and I outlined some of my views on man’s responsibility for care of the Earth in “The Stewardship of Creation.” Spoiler alert (not much of a spoiler if you’ve been reading my work for any length of time) but my views don’t fit into any neat little boxes associated with partisan politics. I like it that way. I’ll be writing more about this topic in the future.
Our ancestors once aligned their diets, their work schedules, and their entire lives around the changing seasons and the opportunities and requirements of each season. Should we consider doing more of that ourselves? I think so. I wrote about that in “Living in Season.”
The first step towards living in season is accepting the decidedly countercultural notion of limits. In “Seasonal Limits,” I explored how that might look and why it might be healthy to adopt personal limits within our “microwave” society.
I was re-elected Mayor of Stamford on May 4, 2024 and I’ll take the oath of office for my fourth two-year term on Monday, May 20. As I embark on that new term, I sat down to consider the basis of my value system in making decisions. It is simple, but it is “A Troublesome Burden.”
Books I’m Reading
I am still reading “Anna Karenina”. It’s a lengthy tome, not meant to be finished with speed. Tolstoy is a brilliant writer and the translators have done a superb job of bringing the Russian text to English while also maintaining the vivid sense of place and time in the original writing. I don’t know if I would have fully enjoyed it as a teenager, but I enjoy it now. The agrarian themes are starting to settle into place. I look forward to writing more about this in the future.
As I waited for the election results on the evening of May 4, I settled my mind by commencing a re-read of “Jayber Crow.” It’s the sort of book that gives you new layers, thoughts, and ideas each time you read it. If you wonder why my mind works the way it does, and why I am so aggressively pro-Stamford and becoming an ever-more exuberant activist for rural places, you need only read “Jayber Crow” to understand.
Online Reads
My Tennessee friend
writes an enjoyable newsletter called “Stories Talk Good.” This recent story of how he met his wife truly does talk good. Give him a subscription. You’ll be glad you did.Apple unveiled a really dark and depressing new ad that seems to have rightly been met with revulsion on the Interwebs. My friends
(“The Bare Face of the Machine”) and (“A Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream”) took it to task in their own brilliant ways. Rather than write about it myself, I endorse their writings in full. In fact, I have never read a word by either of these gentlemen that I wouldn’t wholeheartedly endorse.Over the last month, I’ve spent a lot of my online reading time on the topic of food forests, permaculture gardens, and associated topics. I hope to have more to share about these plans in the future, just as soon as I wrangle the thoughts in my head.
Listening Recs
Speaking of Hadden and Nate, they were each recent guests on
’s excellent podcast “A Drink With a Friend.” Hadden discussed “Localism” and Nate discussed “Working With Our Hands.”Dan Stewart and I will soon record the next “Rural Church and State” podcast. He took a trip to France (that will come up!) and our schedules have not matched the last several weeks. In the meantime, check out our introduction to voting and my Wendell Berry primer.
As always, thanks for reading along and supporting my work! Your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated.
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and the Rural Church and State and West of 98 podcasts. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to him wherever podcasts are found.
Honored, my friend! And Godspeed on your next term. I read Jayber Crow for the first time this year. It's been a while since I've said "My goodness, that's good," so many times while reading.
The more I see from you, the more I want to move to Stamford. Thanks for giving me a vision for what a good mayor can look like.
And thanks for the kind words on my recent piece and for sharing it with your audience. It means a lot.