Plowing a ‘100 Foot Line’ in 2009 There’s a fine stand of young slash pine at Dead Man’s curve on the Longville Gravel Pit Road. I’ve watched with interest the growth of this forest. After the field was earlier ‘clear cut’ for its marketable timber, a hard-working Mexican crew then replanted it in straight rows. By the following winter, the pines began to poke their heads above...

My favorite quotes of 2008 I collect quotes and these are some of my favorites of the past year. Add yours on the “comments” section of this blog. I’d love to hear from you. Curt We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. – Winston Churchill Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working. -Picasso If you want to change your...

Passage from Chapter 25 of The Wayfaring Stranger by Curt Iles Background: Joe Moore, a teenaged Irish immigrant has been befriended by an old Redbone woman known as Miz Girlie. This scene takes place in the longleaf pines of Louisiana in 1849. Joe slept each night on the porch. Miz Girlie gave him an old quilt and moss-filled mattress to lie on; aside from the mosquitoes, it was a fine...

How to Bury a Country Man “The thing about common sense is that it ain’t common, Son.” –Erik Pederson (whom we recently buried in his jeans and khaki shirt.) The funeral director pulled me to the side. “We’ve got everything set up. The last song before you speak is a Johnny Cash song. I listened to it and it should be just right.” I was already nervous. This...

“Medic” The following is an abridged (shortened) version of Curt Iles’ Christmas short story, “Medic” featured in the new story collection, The Write Before Christmas. A compilation of nineteen stories by fifteen Southern authors (including two by Curt) it is available at www.creekbank.net. Copies are $10.00 each plus $5.00 shipping per order. An autographed book is...