Creekbank Blog

An Enduring Marriage of 77 Years

76 years of marriage—no, make that 77. They were always together. In my fifty years of knowing them, I can seldom recall seeing one without the other. And that’s how Uncle Gordon and Aunt Letha will live on in my heart. With the recent death of my grandmother’s last living sibling, Letha Reynolds, a marriage bond of 76 years was …

Read More »

“You’re the Man”

“You’re the Man” I wonder if they’ll give Captain Sully his “Broken Wing” award. It’s a special aviation award for safely landing a disabled aircraft. As you are aware, Chelsey B. “Sully” Sullenberger III is the pilot who saved the lives of 155 passengers of US Airways Flight 1549, when he safely landed the large jet in the Hudson River. …

Read More »

A Journey: Dry Creek to Big D.C.

This is an excerpt from my third book, Wind in the Pines. As I watched today’s inauguration of Barak Obama, I was reminded of an estimated one- million- man crowd I was a part of on the National Mall. This is a story of what God taught me there. “From ‘Big D.C.’ to ‘little d.c.’” …Sometimes the best place to …

Read More »

Where is your “Prayer Tree?”

Where is your prayer tree? Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, talked about having a place to get alone with God. In the older Bible versions, He called it a “closet.” The New International Version states it this way: “When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” Matthew 6:6 …

Read More »

The Writing Life: Published?

Thoughts from Curt Iles I’ve made a new friend via the Internet, Doug from Canada. He had several questions on self-publishing and perseverance. Here are some of my thoughts. On Rejection: Rejection is the badge of honor of any writer working hard to be published. In spite of the success God has blessed me with (sales of over 20,000 cumulative …

Read More »

The Writing Life: Inspiration

At The Old House my “writing room” guarded by my writing assistant Ivory. I’m a member of a wonderful writing group called “Ripplers.” We have a weekly discussion topic. This week’s topic is “finding inspiration to write.” There are several ideas I have. As always, your comments and ideas are welcome. Writing Inspiration Inspiration does exist, but it must find …

Read More »

Headlights

Living in a “headlight culture” Curt Iles curtiles@aol.com http://www.creekbank.net Maybe it’s a Southern thing (like fried catfish and pink flamingos in front yards) but I’ve always liked headlamps—or as we call them headlights. In our rural community of Dry Creek, it really gets dark. No streetlights and few houses make for beautiful nights. On these ink black nights, I love …

Read More »

The Evening Holler

The first short story in my first book, Stories from the Creekbank, continues to be one of our reader’s favorites. It is entitled “The Evening Holler” and I’ve told it and read it to literally to hundreds of groups over the past ten years. At the end of this short story is a special picture from Africa and a postscript …

Read More »

The Death of my Uncle, Bob Plott

  My beloved uncle, Bob Plott, died last week after a long illness.My mother’s only brother, he never married.Uncle Bob lived with my grandparents until their deaths in the early 1990’s. He then moved full time to his fishing camp on Texas’ Sam Rayburn Lake. He was so good to my two sisters and I.We will miss him. Uncle Bob …

Read More »

On Beginning a New Year

On the Beginning of a Year Being a writer, I always equate the first day of a new year to the blank page in a new journal. As I open the notebook and leaf through its empty pages, the potential for what I will write there is limitless. However, from being a journal keeper for nearly thirty-five years, I know …

Read More »

A 100 Foot Line

Plowing a ‘100 Foot Line’ There’s a fine stand of young slash pine at Dead Man’s curve on the Longville Gravel Pit Road. I’ve watched with interest the growth of this forest. After the field was earlier ‘clear cut’ for its marketable timber, a hard-working Mexican crew then replanted it in straight rows. By the following winter, the pines began …

Read More »

Favorite Quotes of 2008

My favorite quotes of 2008 I collect quotes and these are some of my favorites of the past year. Add yours on the “comments” section of this blog. I’d love to hear from you. Curt We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. – Winston Churchill Inspiration does exist, but it must …

Read More »

The Wayfaring Stranger Chapter 25

Passage from Chapter 25 of The Wayfaring Stranger by Curt Iles Background: Joe Moore, a teenaged Irish immigrant has been befriended by an old Redbone woman known as Miz Girlie. This scene takes place in the longleaf pines of Louisiana in 1849. Joe slept each night on the porch. Miz Girlie gave him an old quilt and moss-filled mattress to …

Read More »

Medic! A WW2 Story

“Medic” The following is an abridged (shortened) version of Curt Iles’ Christmas short story, “Medic” featured in the new story collection, The Write Before Christmas. A compilation of nineteen stories by fifteen Southern authors (including two by Curt) it is available at http://www.creekbank.net. Copies are $10.00 each plus $5.00 shipping per order. An autographed book is the perfect Christmas gift! …

Read More »