Wind in the Pines

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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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 Cardinal and Mr. Smith’s Plane

  The bird crashed into the plate glass window. My friend and I walked over to where a red cardinal lay on the grass. She said, “It’s dead.” “Let’s watch for a while. I’ve seen birds, knocked silly from a collision, get up, wobble around, and fly off.” But it was evident this cardinal’s flying days were over. He was …

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The Clearcut

Pine Trees and Gravel Roads This story, written in 2023, is from my third book Wind in the Pines.  They’ve clearcut a large swath of pine forest adjacent to the home I grew up in at the dead-end road where my parents live. A Clear Cut is always sad to me.  This one removed the thick strands of pines about …

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Memorial Day- The Gift of Life: 24,550 Extra Days

Herman Clemenson lived 24,500 days after Sgt. Leroy Johnson saved his life on Dec. 15, 1944. The place was Leyte Island, Philippines. The story is one for the ages. 24,550 days. That’s a long time.  That’s 67 years and over two months. Close to a lifetime.  And Herman Clemenson,  a North Dakota soldier had this gift of a lifetime thanks …

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“Uncle Quincy’s Goose” from ‘Wind in the Pines’

  Uncle Quincy’s Goose   (From Curt Iles’s third book, Wind in the Pines.) “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.” -Proverbs 21:23   You are probably familiar with the old story of the gossip who was confronted for spreading an untruth throughout the community. The offending “tale-bearer” apologized and volunteered to go back to …

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A Remarkable Day: April 6 is Whipoorwill Day

A word from Curt This afternoon my oldest grandson Noah and I will slip into the edge of Kisatchie National Forest near Woodworth. We won’t have our guns. Turkey season doesn’t open until tomorrow. We’ll be there (rain or not) to look and listen. I’m taking him to the area where I encountered a herd of wild horses last month. …

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See all 13 of our Creekbank Books (plus several special bundle packages).

Wow!  I wrote my first book, Stories from the Creekbank, in 2000. Not only is it still in print, but it’s a steady seller. I’m so grateful for friends and readers like you who’ve kept my thirteen books “evergreen.” Evergreen is the book-selling term for a title that continues to sell long after its publication. We’ve been blessed in this. …

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The Clearcut

  A word to the Creek Tribe: In the coming weeks, we’re going to have fun with several creative book sales.  As I’ve inventoried our backlist of twelve books, I’ve thought,  “We have too many good books in this closet needing to be in the hands of our Tribe readers.  So get ready for some treats. Follow this blog for …

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The Falcon

The Falcon My Daddy had a wonderful sense of humor. You had to know him well to be exposed to how he loved making fun of everything. He could really surprise you at times. We had an old 1963 Ford Falcon that had been passed around in our family. It had once been blue but by about 1980 it was …

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Uncle Quincy’s Goose

This classic story is from our third book,  Wind in the Pines. Uncle Quincy’s Goose   “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.”                       -Proverbs 21:23 This gift of human communication is a wonderful thing. But the corresponding trouble this ability to speak gets us in is often not good. Solomon in his book of …

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A Story for the Flag: “The Tale of Two Caps”

“A Tale of Two Caps” is from our third short story collection,  Wind in the Pines. With our current American conversation over a divided nation, I was reminded of this story.  It’s a timely reminder about the strengths of our country and the challenges we have.   I grew up in a home where my parents never judged people by …

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Best Seat in the House

     It’s World Series time.  One of my favorite times of the year.  I always recall how my Daddy took this week off to imbibe in two of his loves:  squirrel hunting and the World Series. In those days,  the World Series began early in October  (there weren’t divisions) and coincided with the first week of squirrel season. I …

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“A $1000 Saddle on a $100 Horse”

                  A word from Curt After all of these years, it’s still one of my favorite stories. A humorous story with a good lesson. Enjoy! “A $1000 Saddle on a $100 Horse” This story was told to me by my friend Diann Cain Brown several years ago and it is still among …

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