Art from Bill Iles

I’d like to invite everyone within SW Louisiana to drop by an excellent art show at the RealArt DeRidder Gallery. Tonight, Dec. 29 from 6:00-8:00 PM, is the opening reception. Four DeRidder natives, including my beloved uncle Bill Iles, are featured in this show called “Coming Home.” The paintings are on display through Jan. 9.  …

Stolen Christmas Trees… Thoughts on Holiday Giving

A Stolen Christmas Tree From the book,  Wind in the Pines, by Curt Iles   copyright 2004 Creekbank St0ries “I know I tagged a tree in this area.”  Those are the words of my neighbor, Mitzi Foreman, as she walks through our Christmas tree farm on a blustery Sunday afternoon. Together we search through where she …

"Medic" A Christmas story from Dec. 1944:Battle of the Bulge

MEDIC! This is a different type of story from what I normally write. It was featured in a Christmas compilation called  The Write Before Christmas. By Curt Iles “Medic. Medic.” Nazi sniper Unerfeldewebel Franz Schmidt didn’t know any English, but in the case of the nearby wounded American soldier, he didn’t need to. The man’s …

A day with students is always a good day

I visited this morning with Mrs. Kelly Rudy’s third graders at DeRidder’s Carver Elementary.  We had a fun time together as I told them three stories:  The Evening Holler (from Stories from the Creekbank) , Joe Moore and the Skunk (The Wayfaring Stranger) , and Mayo’s Snake-Popping story (A Good Place). No matter the age, …

Can you hear me now? Thoughts on reaching the world

Can You Hear Me Now? A man I encountered in a rural area of Cambodia may have been the defining image of this interesting part of Asia. I saw him coming before he saw me: he was a rather large man for the Khmer race.  What really caught my eye was his attire. All he …

Snowing in Dry Creek/Review of A Good Place/YouTube snow video

It’s rare to get snow along the Gulf Coast, especially in December.  Yesterday’s 2 inch snowfall was the earliest ever recorded.  Just a note:  we had snow last year in mid-December,  some during Easter 2007 (See the Easter Cold Snap in The Wayfaring Stranger) and previous to that it had last snowed on February 7, …