Creekbank Blog

Please join us as we celebrate the art of language during RAD’s first spoken word event. “Coming Home @ RAD” will feature the authors Curt Iles, Rachel Reischling, Tommie Townsley, Anita Machek, Gordon Rottman and Chris Pascale …musical lagniappe will be provided by the powerful fiddling of Ron Yule. Saturday, January 9, noon-3pm. Well-known children’s author, Tommie Townsley will speak …

This is from chapter 1 of The Wayfaring Stranger.  It tells of how my great-great-great grandfather Joseph Moore had to leave his home in Westport, Ireland as a teenager in 1849. Along with the garden, these sheep were the livelihood of his sister and himself. They were so precious that he brought them nightly into the dirt-floored cottage. That was …

Sugar and Ivory It’s odd but I will always think of two dogs when I think of the long night that Hurricane Rita struck Dry Creek Camp. We had 350 people on our grounds. They had been moved and bedded down in our most solid dorms and everyone took enough food and water for the next thirty hours when we …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, 1988.   Click here to see …

Landmark Longleaf Pine on Longville Gravel Pit Road. See below for more A good word:  “Compel” A short story from Hearts across the Water by Curt Iles Then there is the story of my friend Tom Dunville.  I’ve known Tom for seven years. He is a wonderful artist and the nicest guy I know… when he is sober.  Tom has …