A Pineywoods Manifesto

Leaders Eat Last Thoughts on Servant-Leadership “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 I’ve recently discovered a fascinating book, ‘Leaders Eat Last’ by Simon Sinek. The book’s premise comes from the United States Marine tradition, where officers will wait until the …

A Mentor named Jay Miller   “I was born in a tiny Southern town. I grew up with my family and friends all around.” Something to Love Jason Isbell   I grew up in a rural community where I was fortunate to have a long line of mentors and role models.  Many of these relationships continued even into my adult …

John Wooden’s Socks   “It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.”   -John Wooden   I was a college senior the year I met John Wooden in 1979. I was preparing to embark on my journey as a high school basketball coach. I traveled to Monroe, Louisiana to hear John Wooden speak at a coaching clinic. Wooden, who’d …

Leaving this World Better . . .  “L.T.W.B.T.U.F.I.” Leave this world better than you found it! It’s a good motto to live by. Whatever we touch. Wherever we go, we ought to leave it better. I’ve always loved camping and hiking. Part of the joy is in setting up camp along a bubbling mountainside creek or under the tall pines …

  Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he [b]meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the [c]rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, …

    My most important story By Curt Iles I make my living as a storyteller. As a novelist, I create characters and stories. What I wish to share is a true story. It’s my story. It’s a story of what happened inside me. I grew up in a rural area of Louisiana. Our lack of material things was offset …

How to Fight a Bear I’ve got hiking fever. It’s strikes me several times a year and I find my heart, if not my feet, on a trail in Arkansas or the Appalachian Mountains. In both of these hiking locales, encountering black bears does occur. I want to share a few good bear stories along with information from a “Bear …

A Good Time to “De-clutter”   As many of you know from my stories I love to hike in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and along the Appalachian Trail (or the “A.T.” as it is called.) One thing backpacking quickly teaches you is the priority of traveling light. When you are carrying a 30-40 pound pack on your back for …

Each day in December, we’re spooning out a helping of Christmas Jelly. Today’s story features two illustrations of  forgiveness.  Christmas is a tough time for those with “issues”: hurts from the past, wounds that haven’t healed, bitterness, and regret. Christmas is also a great time for extending forgiveness. These two stories illustrate the strength and power of  pure forgiveness. On …

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is today. It’s a story worth retelling. His name is  John Stephen Akhwari and he had the dubious honor to finish last in the Marathon at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. John Stephen, a Tanzanian runner, finished more than one hour after the winner had …

Love and Discipline I once read a story about a father’s wise advice to his daughter, who was struggling with disciplining her young children. The father invited her to take a boat ride on a nearby lake.  The boat had two oars and the father told the daughter to take one oar and row. The boat went in a circle. …

Foreword: Dinosaurs “Tell me who you are, and I’ll tell you where you’re from.” –Wallace Stegner I was born in the Louisiana Pineywoods when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. Most of them are gone, and I still miss them greatly. They helped shape my life, and I’ll always be grateful for each of them. These older men of my Dry …

A word from Curt November is NaNoWriMo. That’s National Novel Writing Month. I’m leading a group of six writers (I still have room for two more) to write a book (fiction or non-fiction) of 60,000 words. That’s 2000 words per day. The story below, “Sing Out Your Life Song” is from my November project, The Pineywoods Manifesto: Field Notes on …

  The following is from the upcoming book by Curt Iles, The Pineywoods Manifesto. It’s is a collection of essays and life lessons for his four grandsons. Noah, Jack, Jude, and Luke Iles. He is currently blogging book chapters at his website, www.creekbank.net Know Those Who Serve. Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. -Jesus in Luke …