Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller

  The following is from the upcoming book by Curt Iles, The Pineywoods Manifesto. It’s is a collection of essays and life lessons for his four grandsons. Noah, Jack, Jude, and Luke Iles. He is currently blogging book chapters at his website, www.creekbank.net Know Those Who Serve. Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. -Jesus in Luke …

Go Trojans!   I wouldn’t believe this story (or tell it) if I hadn’t heard it directly from Jimmie Hooks. Mr. Hooks was one of my Dad’s closest high school friends, a successful business in DeRidder (Big D Corral and Hook’s) and a fine Christian man.   I’ll let him tell the story as I remember it:   His son, …

A word from Curt We continue with chapters from our upcoming summer book, The Pineywoods Manifesto. It’s written for my grandson about the values and priorities of the unique culture of western Louisiana. Our plan is to release end at summer’s end as an e-book and Audible audiobook. If there is enough interest, we’ll then print it in paperwork. You …

This is another chapter from our upcoming book, The Pineywoods Manifesto. 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 …

A word from Curt My summer project is a small book entitled The Pineywoods Manifesto. It’s for my four grandsons and is my attempt to pass on the qualities and values of my home area of western Louisiana. Also, at our website, you can currently download for free a copy of my first novel, The Wayfaring Stranger. Click here for your download. You can view the …

A word from Curt My summer project is a small book entitled The Pineywoods Manifesto. It’s for my four grandsons and is my attempt to pass on the qualities and values of my home area of western Louisiana. Also, at our website, you can currently download for free a copy of my first novel, The Wayfaring Stranger. Click here for …

  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 …

King Mockingbird Each day he sits up there—on the highest limb on the tallest oak in the campgrounds. I call him “King Mockingbird.” The area around the Tabernacle and First Aid building belong to him. He is the biggest and loudest mockingbird around. It is easy to recognize him high up in the oak tree. His beautiful, loud singing soars …

In today’s Creekbank StoryLetter: A new story from The Pineywoods Manifesto. A Big Rattler. Thanks for helping us on our September Africa Trip. Get a free download of our most popular novel, The Wayfaring Stranger. Readers are enjoying As the Crow Flies. Do you have your copy? We haven’t forgotten about our next novel, 1918: No Man’s Land Louisiana. We’re …

    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 …

Pa’s Enduring Lesson on Anger They’ve both been gone for nearly half a century. I was seven and ten, respectively when my paternal great-grandparents died. We called them Pa and Doten, and they were center of our family’s solar system. They each left an enduring lesson that still reverberates in my heart. As I pass each of these two brief …

Rule 1: Think first, then shoot. Rule 2: If in doubt, don’t shoot.   A Word from Curt I’m writing a short book for my four grandsons entitled, A Pineywoods Manifesto: Field Notes on the Full Life contains brief stories and insights I wish to pass on to them. They are blessed with strong fathers who are already modeling these qualities …

“Son, there are two things you should never sell: a dog or a gun. You’ll regret it later.” -Louisiana Rural Wisdom Life is full of decisions, and each decision you make is a trade-off. You’ll gain some things while losing others. Seldom in life is any decision “a complete win.” To move ahead, you must necessarily leave something behind. The …

Life is a long journey, and you don’t get where you are alone. “He was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple to get there.”                             – Comment on a supposedly self-made man A word I spoke to a recent group of high school …