Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller

    Trade-Offs: “When Two Fools Meet”                        “There are two things you should never sell: a dog or a gun.” Life is full of decisions, and each one you make is a trade-off. You’ll gain some things while losing others. There’s no shortcut. You’ll gain something as you trade off something else. Seldom in life is any decision “a …

“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 14 for August 14 keep your eyes on the path. The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬     https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.14.8.NLT

Proverbs 13 for August 13: “Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.” ‭‭ Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “Shut your mouth and listen!”   https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.13.3.NLT

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 …

“You ain’t missed a thing.” Senator Ted Kennedy, the “Liberal Lion” and long-serving U.S. Senator, was never one of my favorite politicians. But this story bears repeating. Senator Kennedy was campaigning and stopped at a western Massachusetts coal mine. One of the workers, a stubby older miners covered in coal dust, walked up, “Senator Kennedy, is it true you ain’t …

  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 …

t“You have no friends. You have no enemies. You only have teachers.” “The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.” ‭‭ Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ ”LLL”  Be a LifeLong Learner   Proverbs 10 for August 10     https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.10.8.NLT

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

. 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 …

Everyone’s favorite story from my previous book, The Old House, was “The Sign Phantom.” It told of my dad’s hilarious roadside signs as you entered the community of Dry Creek. The following is a list of all the signs as he remembered them. You may not understand them all. (You would have needed to have been there on some of …

  My Favorite Jimmie Barrett Story Excerpt from my upcoming short story collection, Where I Come From. I close with my favorite Jimmie Barrett principal story. One day, I was teaching chemistry when he slipped into the back of the classroom to observe me. He got comfortable.  He always looked kind of sleepy and was soon leaning on his elbow. …