Scroll down to read the opening chapters of Where We All Belong. Chapters 1-27 are below AS OF SUNDAY 21 MAY. 10:04 pm READER BEWARE: This is a ROUGH FIRST DRAFT of Where We All Belong. It is a solid skeleton of the book’s direction and outline. It does not have correct punctuation, quotation …
Author Archives: Curt Iles
Paul is Dead
PAUL IS DEAD They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town Acts 14:19-20 *Scroll down to read the story, “Paul is Dead.” I’ve always been bothered by homeless people. My city of Alexandria is …
A Good Story: Dexter’s Truck
Dexter’s Truck, a story I believe you’ll enjoy: As always, feel free to share our stories with new readers Dexter’s Truck I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Psalm 84:10 My church has a large parking lot. You’d better notice where you …
Lazarus
Lazarus’ Second Funeral Curt Iles From Christmas Jelly Creekbank Publishing copyright 2012 www.creekbank.net I guess I’m the only one who attended both of Boaz Lazurus’ funerals. The second one was yesterday. The first one was thirty-one years ago. Folks around here simply call me “Rabbi.” It’s a name I like. I remember Lazarus’ first funeral …
Resurrection
Resurrection “In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines.” -Traditional Southern Folk Song A month ago, I walked through my tree farm in Dry Creek. A hot control fire had recently roared through killing small trees, bushes, and briars. All that was left was a dead barren landscape. This prescribed …
I Smell a Rat
I Smell a Rat New York City is being overrun by rats. An estimated 2 million rats live in this city of 8.4 million. Some researchers claim there are more rats than people in NYC, but that’s probably an exaggeration. Whatever the number, NYC has a rat problem. Mayor Eric Adams has made rat control …
Shawls in a Cold Church
Shawls I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Psalm 122:1 I grew up in a cold small country church, and I now attend a cold large church. The Dry Creek Baptist Church of my childhood was a wooden clapboard building with not even …
Elmer’s Hand
I apologize for the recent problems with our e-mail server. I’d love to hear your comments and input at creekbank.stories@gmail.com Elmer’s Hand There are some people who make you smile when you think of them. Elmer Conner was one of those people. I can take you to the exact spot where I met …
Thoughts on Curt Lies
Curt Lies My last name is often misspelled. People want to put another s in it as in Isles. Like the Islands. Sometimes they want to insert a double ss at the end. The worst troublemaker is that a capital I and lowercase l look identical on a laptop. No one wants to be known …
Please Don’t Take My Gas Stove
Please don’t take my Gas Stove! I’ve read with interest an effort by the US Consumer Product Commission to ban gas stoves. I’m always alarmed by the government’s long-armed reach into our lives. Especially when it concerns our homes. I don’t know if “A man’s home is his castle” is a law, but it should …
Where Everyone is your Uncle or Aunt
“Where Everyone is your Uncle or Aunt” I grew up in a rural community where it seemed every adult was my uncle or aunt. I knew they couldn’t all be kin, although they seemed to be. They’re two of the sweetest words in the English language: Uncle. Aunt. In Dry Creek, these terms of …
Patterans
A Patteran for others to follow. I’ve always been fascinated with Gypsies. There are so many stories, tales, and legends about these traveling people. My favorite story is about patterans. Gypsies (known as the Roma in Europe) had a unique method of communicating with fellow travelers. At a crossroads, Gypsies would build a small pattern …
What is Class?
What is Class? “Class can walk with Kings and keep its virtue and talk with crowds and keep the common touch. Everyone is comfortable with the person who has class.” -Ann Landers I’ve been thinking about class this week. It’s such a fine word, and it’s a fine trait. The Oxford Dictionary defines class as …
Moses’ Baskets
A few years ago DeDe and I spent time in the country of South Africa. There were several things that affected us deeply on this trip. It was in the middle of their AIDS epidemic, and we saw death up close and personal. There were fresh graves everywhere. I’ll never forget visiting the homes of …
