I’m continuing blogging about dog stories this week.  It’s in honor and memory of my best friend, Ivory.  This yellow lab died last week after a rich life of 14 years. I’ve repeated the “punch line” in this story thousands of times since it occurred twenty years ago.  My son Clint still cringes when I tell it. Picture this scene: …

A Friendship Fire From The Old House by Curt Iles It’s a beautiful March night.  During this third month of the year, the nights are cool and the days are normally mild.  The blossoms of spring begin to show off- the azaleas, dogwoods, and honeysuckle.  Most of the days are full of blue skies and moderate temperatures.  Best of all, …

June-  Baby Birds and Labrador Retrivers… A dog story… excerpted from “A Lesson from the Birds”    The Old House by Curt Iles It’s time for all of  the rites of summer- It’s now warm enough for swimming in the creek, and ripening blackberries are ready to be found in the thickets.  In gardens, purple-hull peas are ready, and watermelon vines …

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

I come from a family of dog lovers and grew up in a dog-loving rural culture.  (One of my older friends, Lela Boggs Harper, always said,  “Curt, don’t trust no one that doesn’t like dogs.”) I have no problems with cats or even people who don’t share my great love of dogs. I’m just thankful that dogs are, and have …

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.  At the closing of the …

“To the world you may just one person; to one person, you may be the world.”     -C.S. Lewis Three reasons why I write I’m asked nearly weekly, “Why do you write?” Here are three short stories that answer that question: My friend Wayne is living in Dallas right now. He’s awaiting a double lung transplant that will save his life. …

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 tagged her tree last week …

The Warm Glow of Giving It’s the kind of December day Louisiana is famous for: cold, foggy, with a thick humidity that chills you to the bottom of your toes. Parking my truck at the Hope Center, I feel kind of like the weather. I didn’t sleep good last night and my “battery needs re-charging.”  I wipe my boots on …

Betting on The Saints: Thoughts on 60 inch TVs, “Cryptkeeper” Tattoos, and Louisiana Rednecks It’s a scary combination: a bet, a case of beer, Louisiana rednecks*… and the New Orleans Saints. It sounds like a sure enough formula for trouble for any day of the week. *First of all a disclaimer: “Redneck” is not an offensive term where I come …

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, people love stories.  No matter …

    A  Good Epitaph to Have. . . Have you ever thought about what epitaph you’d like to have? Years ago I walked along the seawall in Galveston, I saw one I admired.   A plaque there read: In memory of Leroy Columbo 1905‑1974 A deaf mute who risked his own life repeatedly to save more than one thousand lives …

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 was wearing was a loose …

"I know I'll never see her again until heaven..."