Essays from West of 98: Words of 2022
This week’s essay has been a challenge. I started two different essays, both with two pages of handwritten notes on my yellow pad. I scrapped them both. I just did not like where they were headed. Maybe I will come back to them one day. I guess it depends on whether those topics recapture me and take me to a satisfactory place. Recently, I read an author’s commentary on a particularly good work of fiction and he discussed how the characters took him where they wanted to go, not necessarily where he expected. That may sound ridiculous, since he created the characters, but if you’ve ever gotten really wrapped up in a writing project, you understand a little. Sometimes, writing takes you places more than you take it.
Years ago, I read some of the late Larry McMurtry’s comments on the controversial death of Augustus McCrae near the end of “Lonesome Dove.” People asked why he killed off such an iconic character. McMurtry commented that Gus should’ve known better than to go charging over a hill in dangerous country like he did. That comment annoyed me at the time. Now? I get it. In a work that powerful, McMurtry ceded control of the narrative to the characters long before Gus got himself killed.
You probably didn’t sign up to read my amateur literary criticism, so I digress. Last week, I wrote about the importance of a fresh start with a new year. Like I wrote, I am not big on New Year’s resolutions or the pressures associated with them. When we start off a year with bold goals that will be difficult to achieve, we often set ourselves up for failure and feelings of insecurity and unworthiness. On the other hand, I like something else that I have seen people discuss for self-improvement in a new year. That is choosing a specific word or a group of words to focus on. It is a method to sharpen our focus on a specific topic without setting an arbitrary standard or creating unnecessary pressure in life.
My brain moves like a band of rabid squirrels chasing a pile of acorns rolling down a hill while fighting off a hungry band of grackles, so it is no surprise that I have more than a few words to focus on for 2022. One important word is “PLACE.” This is no surprise. I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about place, especially a specific place in Stamford and a general place in rural America. My reading in recent years has been heavily focused on the topic as well.
Place, however, is not merely an inanimate object. A person can dedicate all their time to restoring a place, but if they do not consider the relationship between a place and its people, they will just create a beautiful wilderness. Assuming that is not your goal (in some cases it may be), people are an essential consideration of a place. I just finished a fantastic book called “Driftless” (which merits its own future essay) about a fictional rural community set in the Driftless Area of southwest Wisconsin. That community was a collection of fascinating, relatable characters, but the place itself was a character too. The place shaped so much of the decision-making, ambitions, and lifestyles of the people who lived there.
As we work on revitalizing our rural communities, it is vital that we consider the relationship between the people and the place. A few years ago, a guest on my friend Ed Roberson’s “Mountain and Prairie” podcast used a line that has resonated with me ever since: “people will not fight for something they do not love.” Our people often have a complicated relationship with our place. If they have not found a reason to love it, they are unlikely to care about its success in the future. In 2022, I have a lot of place-oriented thoughts, but one important consideration is finding ways to connect our people to their place and breaking down the barriers that prevent them from having that connection.
If you have a word to focus on for 2022, what is it?
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and podcast. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to West of 98 wherever podcasts are found.