Louisiana Stories

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 …

“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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

  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 …

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 …

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 …

Epilogue: Wet Paint This story is the final story from my second book, The Old House. It describes the strange mix of emotions a person feels when they finish a big project—regardless of if it’s a painting, a book, or building a house. I’ve just finished my next novel, A Good Place. Well, if you ever finish a book, I’ve …

A Brighter Day for Louisiana I’ve been a “Louisianian” (doesn’t that word roll off your tongue well) for all of my life. In those fifty plus years, I’ve never been prouder to say this is my state than now. (I’ve always been proud, have chosen to live here, raise my family, and cast my lot as a citizen.) I believe …

The Evening Holler I’m sitting in Crooked Bayou swamp on a cold still October morning. I love this time of year when the weather becomes cool and the sky is usually clear. As daybreak comes, a mile through the woods I hear a neighbor’s roosters crowing and in the opposite direction, I hear my brother-in-law’s loud voice scolding his dog. …

From the book, Stories from the Creekbank by Curt Iles To learn more, visit www.creekbank.net A Pair for Life Clay, Clint, and I crawled over the wet leaves to the bluff bank on the small stream called Dry Creek. We were just west of where the creek runs into Bundick Creek. As we crawled along, I kept looking at the …

The two maps (above) are in the second edition of The Wayfaring Stranger. The first map is sketched by my special Dry Creek friend, Debra Tyler. I think it is great. The second beautiful map is by my good friend, Peyton Freeman of Wise Publishing in Sulphur. Thanks Deb and Peyton! click on maps to see a larger view. The …

              The Old House in Dry Creek. First constructed by my great great grandparents circa 1892, this family home is my favorite spot in the world, source of many of my stories, and my best writing muse. Below is the opening story from my second book, The Old House. Pen and ink drawing is …