A Pineywoods Manifesto

updated on December 3, 2024 You can order on Amazon as paperback, hardcover, and Kindle an E-book. You’ll receive your books within 2-3 days.   Where I Come From continues to sell very well on Amazon.  We are so pleased with the positive feedback we’re receiving from readers. You can find our Creekbank books at: Nichol’s in DeQuincy Dry Creek …

“For the man sound of body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every day has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously.” -George Gissing Learn more at www.creekbank.net   Amazon/Curt Iles/Where I Come From  

This is an excerpt from Chapter 17, “A Falling Out,” in Where I Come From. THOUGHTS ON FALLING-OUTS One of the saddest things I’ve seen during the recent election is the trail of broken relationships. I call a broken relationship a “Falling-Out.” It goes well beyond a disagreement or argument. It leads to estrangement and isolation. As we’d say back …

Now available at https://bit.ly/KindleEbookWhereIcomeFrom The Talking Stick   I have his walking stick— the one he carried in the latter years of his life when I knew him best. His name was Frank Iles, but our family knew him as “Pa.” He was my great-grandfather and a major link to our family’s past. Pa’s ancestors were among the first pioneers …

A Dry Creek Soldier Comes Home Saturday, September 7, 2024 Dry Creek, Louisiana Taps There’s nothing quite like the sound of “Taps” echoing off a stand of tall pines. My friend Randy Sanchez plays “Taps” on a small World War I “Trench Bugle” in the far corner of the Dry Creek Cemetery. The antique bugle’s unique, raw sound, which no …

This is the landing page for our upcoming short story collection, Where I Come From. We’ll be updating information on the book here. “Leave this world better” from Where I Come From.   Front Cover Image   This is the image for the front cover of: Where I Come From: Stories from the Pineywoods CURT ILES ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Where I Come …

  Sleeping on the Ground   When you sleep on the ground With the stars in your face, You can feel the full-length Of the beauty and grace. -Dan Fogelberg  “The Wild Places”   I’ve just spent the last two nights sleeping on the ground under the stars. One night was on a bicycle trip on the Tammany Trace Trail. …

  LLL   The Discipline of being a LLL: a “Life-Long Learner.” Proverbs 19 for August 19 “To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Life-Long Learner Anyone can be one. No age required. No experience necessary. Available regardless of race, gender, educational background, or family heritage. Go for it!     …

“A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.” There is nothing weak about a gentle answer. Rather, it is a sign of inner strength. A person who can lower the temperature is to be admired.   www.creekbank.net

Proverbs 12 for August 12 “The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “Never trust a man who doesn’t like dogs.” You can tell a lot about a person as to how he treats his dogs, cats, and parakeets.  

When a leader loses their way.   It’s one of the saddest things to witness, A leader losing her way. Leaving her moral compass and taking her eye off the ball. I’m using the feminine pronoun today as a reminder that off-center leadership isn’t gender-related. Losing your way creates a train wreck that compromises the leader, normally leading to a …

Proverbs 11 for August 11: Humility “When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ How to prevent pride? Realize with gratitude that everything you have comes from God. How to develop humility:  “Lord, you’ve given me so much. I ask for one more thing: a sense of gratitude.” www.creekbank.net   sign up for …

  Squirrel Hunting in August It’s a wonderful cool(er) morning in Alexandria. A cold front” brought in a nice cooler breeze with lower humidity. 76 degrees may not sound like much, but it’s a welcome respite from the brutal heat of August in Louisiana I’m sitting on our patio with my third cup of coffee. A nearby fox squirrel is …

A believer should be the hardest worker on the team. “Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/1th.4.11-12.NLT