Watch Yore Topknot https://tj.durangoherald.com/section/columnists-watch-yore-topknot/feed/ Latest local news from The Durango Herald. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 21:01:24 -0600 en-us 30 https://tj.durangoherald.com/james-here-we-are-back-where-we-started/ Hats, specifically cowboy hats, been wearin’ ’em all my life. Started out with the little black, flat-crowned, flat-laced brim kid’s hat with a stampede string. I wore it proudly through my infant years. The first hat I ever bought for... Mon, 30 Apr 2018 17:03:58 -0600 6B15ECF4-240D-6139-E053-0100007FEA23 https://tj.durangoherald.com/james-being-good-just-like-you-are/ Tom James I have an old Gibson Epiphone guitar my second wife bought me because she didn’t want me breakin’ her Alvarez. I’ve been draggin’ her around for years just ‘bong chinginin’ away whenever I could find somebody to tune... Thu, 29 Mar 2018 17:23:30 -0600 68938291-A3A0-372B-E053-0100007FC66C https://tj.durangoherald.com/james-riding-along-in-the-litter/ Tom James I was working my dun horse the other day, just easin’ along down the county road. You would be amazed at all that you can see on the ground from the back of a horse. Empty snuff cans.... Mon, 05 Feb 2018 17:03:26 -0700 6480614E-977F-4CD5-E053-0100007FD7B9 https://tj.durangoherald.com/james-strong-words-and-actions/ Tom James Tyranny, conformity, risk and change are strong words. I imagine the men with powdered ponytails and short pants understood them all too well. They could and would no longer conform to tyranny and were willing to risk all... Mon, 15 Jan 2018 17:03:09 -0700 62C662F9-3083-12EE-E053-0100007FA1F7 https://tj.durangoherald.com/going-round-in-circles/ Tom James The sky is a beautiful blue, and there’s just enough chill in the air to make it fresh. Buzz and I are loping great big one-eighth-mile circles. He has his head down and just enough round in his... Mon, 01 Jan 2018 17:03:27 -0700 61BBE3F4-6257-449D-E053-0100007F3F80 https://tj.durangoherald.com/james-gettin-all-wound-up/ Tom James I just finished a great Zane Grey book, Riders of the Purple Sage, and am halfway through another titled Tonto Basin. They’re both great stories, and the main characters’ lives are influenced and directly affected by those in... Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:22:04 -0700 616C88B3-B9F4-62C7-E053-0100007FF4F1 https://tj.durangoherald.com/james-humility-a-life-lesson/ Tom Jamesdu1-i-syn Back when I worked for other people, it seemed really important to know what day of the week it was. How close are we to Friday and the weekend? One of the greatest things about doing what I... Thu, 23 Nov 2017 17:04:06 -0700 5E9958A7-9366-4F47-E053-0100007F2509 https://tj.durangoherald.com/james-on-conflict-resolution/ du1-i-syn Women. My favorite kind of people. I like the way they look, the way they talk, the way they think and, if memory serves me, the way they feel. I was raised the only boy in families that numbered... Thu, 26 Oct 2017 17:03:27 -0600 5C7A0520-DDF8-5610-E053-0100007FB1D8