I miss the Mexicans

Candido and Federico stopped by to tell me that Adolfo has gone back his village in Oaxaca. He is with his wife Ermalinda now, and their little son. Adolfo was the first one I got to know when the Mexicans came to Moorefield. He and Catarino lived in a trailer about five miles out of town. They all lived there, Palemon, Agustin, Zenaido, and the others--all from the same region, from the same tribe--short, square-shouldered men with dark shiny eyes.

I would visit them at their trailer and we would sit under a tree by the stream and talk about Mexico and their families back home. They always had a lot of questions--about hunting and fishing, the geography of the United States, learning English. Sometimes I would help them with a problem like a traffic ticket or an overdue bill.

But with immigration crackdown and all the raids on the chicken houses, the Mexicans have gone home.

The only ones left are Tres Amigos. They built a beautiful stone patio for us.