Los Ebanos

A Village You Have to Enter on Purpose
Los Ebanos is not the sort of place most people stumble upon while
looking for something else. The road brings you toward the Rio
Grande, and the river brings the road to an end. That geography
matters. In a larger city, a street can be a route to the next
neighborhood, the next shopping center, or the next freeway. Here, a
street belongs to a place with a definite edge. Beyond it lies another
country.
I have lived in Los Ebanos for four years. In that time I have learned
that the streets are not merely strips of pavement between houses. They
are where I make my way through the village, where people recognize
me, and where my ordinary errands become part of the public life of a
very small community.
I am writing this as a resident, not as a surveyor or an inspector. I can
describe what it is like to live here, what I have experienced, and what I
think. But a book that hopes to tell the truth about a place must also
recognize the difference between an impression and a measured fact.
That distinction will matter throughout these pages.
My Three-Wheel View of the World
I do not own a car. I ride a three-wheel bicycle.