None of us wishes to abandon stereotypes if we don't have to. Their utility is unquestionable. Yet, this anthology cares little about all of that. Occasionally, the sensation of sheepishness often associated with a change in one's understanding of a place or a time is well worth the trial in self-reflection. This is, of course, occasionally. The Irish apostate James Joyce succeeded in secularizing the term "epiphany" for literature. The book in your hands now, entitled Texaners, borrows unabashedly from Joyce's insight. Texaners is, naturally, inspired by Joyce's Dubliners. Impish errors aside, why else bother really? Earlier versions of some of these stories have appeared in literary magazines. "Oils" appeared in The Monarch Review and Status Hat. "The Gulf" appeared in Foliate Oak Literary Journal. "Drywall" appeared in Microstory a Week. "Airfare" appeared in Weirdyear. "Rooftop" appeared in Black Heart Magazine. The stories "Chinese Spoons," "The Bat Mitzvah," and "W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd" are new to this collection.