Where I Come From 2024

  The Old House Comes Alive Again I leave my mom’s home and walk the short distance to the Old House. It’s sunset and our homestead, built in 1892, stands starkly against the background of Crooked Bayou swamp. I hurry in from the cold and build a fire in the middle room fireplace, my favorite room, where I spent countless …

    “Chicken Snakes, Two Sisters, and ‘Falling-Outs.’”   I was told this story years ago. It’s still one of my favorites. Two brothers were excellent carpenters and built houses together throughout the hill country near Fredericksburg, Texas.  But one day, they had a falling-out, and the result was that they stopped speaking to each other. Despite that, they continued …

  Visit our Creekbank YouTube Channel to view Curt reading “Outdoor Life.” Listen to an Audio Podcast of “Outdoor Life.”   Outdoor Living: Where is Your Prayer Tree? Years ago, I visited two of my sweetest friends, Phil and Trelvis Thomas. They lived north of Leesville on Mrs. Trelvis’ family homestead. After coffee, Mrs. Trelvis led me to a nearby …

  Curt’s rendition of “The Seed Tree” can be seen on our Creekbank YouTube channel. Our audio Podcast is also available at Spotify. The Seed Tree I’ve been studying this majestic Loblolly pine for over thirty years. It’s located along LA Hwy 113 after you cross the Calcasieu River and enter Louisiana’s No Man’s Land. It caught my eye because it …

The Red Cedars at The Old House January 1, 2024 This red cedar coaster has a remarkable story.  It comes from the limb of one of the majestic cedar trees in the front yard of The Old House. When a pecan tree recently crashed on The Old House roof, the cedar’s limbs limited the damage. The coaster you hold came …

The Deer Hunter Tuesday, December 12, 2023 There are some people you fall in love with the first time you meet them. That was true of Chet, and it was also true of Michael. I first met Chet in early November when he approached a breakfast table of men. It was the first week of deer season. One of the …

Good thoughts for an uncertain time:     Lightening your Load   I love to hike 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 10-15 miles per day, you quickly learn what not …

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 …

    Know Those Who Serve. Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. -Jesus in Luke 6:31 ESV His name was Raymond, and we met when we were both about eighteen. It was unlikely we’d cross paths, much less become friends. Raymond was an urban black man from Pineville, and I was a redneck fresh from the …

Be Kind.   Kindness: a language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.   Always be kinder than necessary. It’s a trait that both blesses the receiver and the giver. It leaves both with a spring in their step. All of my life, I’ve been the recipient of so much grace and kindness.  The old Dry Creek I …

  You are not defined by what you drive “The most important thing about you is not the things you achieve; it is the person you become.” -Dallas Willard The loaded flatbed truck crosses Hwy 28 as I wait at the light.  It is hauling unusual cargo: three stacks of smashed car bodies. I wish I’d had time to count …

  My goals at this season of my life: Stay Curious. Be Amazed. Share Remarkable Stories   “God is working in 10,000 ways around you, and you may be aware of two or three of them.” -John Piper As a Pineywoods Man, I’m committed to a lifetime of curiosity.  To be a lifetime learner.  To walk up to strangers, introduce …

Thoughts on Carrying a Lazy Man’s Load I’m guilty of it. Been guilty of it most of my life. That was proven again today when I was unloading my work truck and tried to bring everything in the house in one load. Just as I got in the kitchen, my iPad slid out from my armload of books, papers, and …

    A word from Curt I’m blogging a new non-fiction project entitled, The Pineywoods Manifesto: Field Notes on the Full Life. Although I’m writing it primarily for my four grandsons, I’m also thinking about the values and qualities we cherish in the part of western Louisiana we call “The Pineywoods.” Today’s lesson chapter involved a grounded worldview on something …