The Old House

Epilogue: Wet Paint This painting by my beloved uncle, Bill Iles, hangs in DeRidder’s Beauregard Museum. It features one of DeRidder’s earlier meeting places, The Royal Cafe. Uncle Bill is my greatest writing encourager as well as a mentor and friend for life.           The following essay is from my second book, The Old House (2002). …

Homesickness and Friendship Fires   Today is our son Clint’s 30th birthday.  It’s only fitting that I drag out his most famous story. As the fire warmed the cold Arkansas night, our mouse friend enjoyed leftover pieces of our macaroni supper. As we sat there and just enjoyed the sounds of the night, I looked over at the boys. Clint, …

A Friendship Fire From The Old House by Curt Iles It’s a beautiful March night.  During this third month of the year, the nights are cool and the days are normally mild.  The blossoms of spring begin to show off- the azaleas, dogwoods, and honeysuckle.  Most of the days are full of blue skies and moderate temperatures.  Best of all, …

The Sign Phantom It all began in the spring of 1974, just prior to my graduation from high school. 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 down to the green “Dry Creek” sign that informs the northbound traveler …

A Friendship Fire Author’s note of 5/20/09 : This story, written eight years ago in 2001, is one of my favorites. It is especially poignant because our son Terry, who the story revolves around, gets married in three days. At the end of this, I’ve added a postscript about a very special friendship fire we had last night. A Friendship …

Aunt Margie and the “Shreveport Revival” (Pictured above) My musical heritage. My great grandmother, Theodosia Wagnon Iles, on the fiddle, my grandfather Lloyd Iles “playing the saw” and my barefooted Aunt Margie Nell Iles Walker on the piano. This picture is circa 1950 and taken at The Old House in Dry Creek. The Revival comes to Shreveport This story on …

The following story comes from my second book, The Old House. An Unbroken Circle of Music One of life’s greatest joys is gathering with friends and family to share together in something we all enjoy. It may be fishing, playing dominoes, or just eating a meal together. But anything we do with those we love multiplies the joy. Therefore, on …

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 …