Our Books

Chapter 62: “A Broken Cup” from ‘Where I Come From’

  Scroll to the next post for Creekbank Book Information, or click here. Author’s note: I originally cut “A Broken Cup” from the book. I wasn’t sure I was ready to be this transparent.   When we needed one more chapter to match the book’s spine width with the page count. I felt this was God’s direction to include it …

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‘Where I Come From’ Landing Page: Leave this world better than you found it.

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 …

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Sleeping on the Ground

  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. …

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1.0 The Sign Phantom

. The Sign Phantom of Dry Creek From the book, The Old House, by Curt Iles It all began in the Spring of 1974, just prior to my high school graduation. A rainy April had kept the local streams flooded in “Dry Creek.” (The world’s most overworked cliché, “Well, how wet is it in Dry Creek?”) One afternoon, I went …

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The Old House at the end of the road

OLD HOUSE AGLOW

            ”The Old House at Night”  1963  tempera on cardboard by my uncle, Bill Iles. 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, the source of many of my stories, and my best writing muse. Below is the opening …

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Leaders Eat Last

red cedar section

Leaders Eat Last You can listen to the podcast episode of “Leaders Eat Last”  at our The Quiet Leader Podcast Thoughts on Servant-Leadership   “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 I’ve recently discovered a fascinating book, Leaders Eat Last by …

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Professor Cavanaugh’s Best Lecture

Audio Podcast of “Professor Cavanaugh’s Best Lecture. ”   A word from Curt Teacher. There’s no higher calling. Few professions can influence as much as a dedicated teacher. The best teacher I ever met was Charles Cavanaugh. This is his story. “Yes, God’s will—most often—is simply doing the best we can, right where we are.” Professor Charles J. Cavanaugh and …

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Six Feet Deep in Trouble

“Six Foot Deep” in Trouble     A word from Curt: Emotion The best stories elicit emotion. Sometimes tears. Other times laughter. Even anger or sadness. A good story creates emotion. Today’s blog is a funny story from an unlikely location,  Dry Creek Cemetery. Enjoy. Laugh. Retell.   “Six Foot Deep” in Trouble   One of my ministries is helping …

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“Leaning Trees” from Deep Roots

A word from Curt Leaning Trees “When I observe a young person, I experience two strong emotions. First, I feel great affection for the young person they are. Then secondly, I feel a deep respect for the adult they will one day become.” -Louis Pasteur   On the morning before Hurricane Rita arrived, I made one last survey of my …

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Escalators Part 3

  Escalators Part 3: Once you get on the steepest escalator under Boston, don’t look back. It may disorient you and cause you to stumble. The way is always forward. Keep moving forward and upward. Life lesson: Always look forward in your life. The path is always up. Moving, Curt Iles You can read Parts 1 and 2 of “Escalators” …

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“Snake-Popping” An excerpt from “A Good Place.”

A Good Place by Curt Iles

    Scroll down to learn of ways you can be part of The Creek Family. My favorite passage from A Good Place. I read the following story to a senior adult group earlier in the week. One lady laughed so hard that I thought we were going to have to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on her. Here is it …

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A Memorial Day Story Worth Telling: A Soldier’s Story

A Note from Curt: As long as I’m alive, the story of Sgt. Leroy Johnson will be remembered.     It’s a story worth telling, worth passing on.  We need to be reminded that freedom is never free. It’s important to remember stories of heroes who paid with their lives for our American freedom. There is no better example of …

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The Road Less Traveled: Africa

  I can’ t get this poem off my mind. My life has been a succession of travel on the road less traveled. This New England poem takes me back to Africa. The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood …

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A Good Epitaph to Have: Leroy Columbo

This is a story from my first book, Stories from the Creekbank. It concerns a famous person from Galveston, Texas. The plaque mentioned is at sidewalk level atop the sea wall. A Good Epitaph to Have     Have you ever thought about what epitaph you’d like to have? Recently as I walked Galveston’s seawall, I read a plaque: In …

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