West of 98

The care, thought, and love behind a shared meal

Putting the pieces together in 2024 to thrive in 2025

The meaningful nature of Halloween trick or treating and why it matters to building community

Welcoming new subscribers, and putting a fresh restatement on the principles of “West of 98” and the reasons for its existence.

A raw and real discussion of mental health, including my own .

Reflections on local culture from the firelight

A word on mental health and uplifting one another

Pursuing work worth doing in a society that strives to avoid work

Turning away from the merchants of big solutions and towards the things that matter

Adopting the unruliness of Wendell Berry’s Mad Farmer in defense of rural place and people

What is the purpose of a local school? And why does it matter to the future of a local community?

On Wendell Berry's 90th birthday, I consider one of his single most powerful sentences and how it has changed me for the better.

Reflections on a local crisis and the future of disaster planning

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. What are we doing, doom scrolling to oblivion as our society decays? The internet is a tool, same as a hammer. We need to not let it control us, our lives, and our culture. Read more and connect with me at Westof98.Substack.com.

Why does rebuilding local culture matter? When our lives are shaped through forces like television, we’re told to look away from our own culture and towards something “better.” It undermines our belief in ourselves and in community. Read more and subscribe to my weekly writings at Westof98.Substack.com

This week's podcast, "Wendell Berry at the Matched Horse Races," discusses Berry's essay "The Work of Local Culture" within the context of the 8th annual Matched Horse Races at the Texas Cowboy Reunion in Stamford. The written version of this essay appears here: https://westof98.substack.com/p/essays-from-west-of-98-wendell-berry Read "The Work of Local Culture&quo...

This week's West of 98 podcast is an audio essay entitled "Cowboy Town." It shares the legacy of the Texas Cowboy Reunion in Stamford and some of the famous occurrences involving Will Rogers and LBJ/Coke Stevenson. Stay tuned for more of my weekly essays to appear in audio format. The written version of this essay appears here: https://westof98.substack.com/p/cowboy-town For more inf...

The West of 98 podcast returns with an audio essay entitled “Sea of Grass.” Stay tuned for more of my weekly essays to appear in audio format. The written version of this essay appears here: https://westof98.substack.com/p/sea-of-grass Check out my recommended books and support West of 98 by shopping through our store at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/westof98 Like what you hear? Rate, review...

Today's episode is the first in-depth discussion on a specific topic of importance to rural communities, swimming pools. This details why swimming pools are important to a community, discussing the concept of "third place." It also discusses the story of the city pool here in Stamford, Texas, how admission became free in 2018, and the impacts on the community of free pool admission. Read more abou...

This episode is the oral version of my essay on Memorial Day 2021. It discusses the origins of Memorial Day as “Decoration Day,” a remembrance of Civil War dead that has its roots in the Appalachian decoration day ritual of decorating ancestors’ graves. The episode concludes with a recitation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Decoration Day.” The episode begins with a discussion of last year's...

Welcome to West of 98. This inaugural episode outlines the podcast to come and the topics to be covered: rural revitalization, public policy, history, literature, music, Theodore Roosevelt, native grasslands, and more. Subscribe now and be ready for upcoming episodes on city pools and Allsup’s burritos. Email me at westof98@substack.com. Subscribe to my writing at westof98.substack.com, and find m...