Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller

  John McCain   He is a hero and a patriot and fittingly, he is being buried as one. John McCain, regardless of your politics, was a great American. Whether you agreed with him or not, he would do anything for what he considered his country. I didn’t always agree with him. I laughingly always said, “Sometimes, he seems to …

A word from Curt It’s one of my favorite fancy words: juxtaposition. It’s really a simple word with a short definition: It’s “comparing and contrasting two or more items.” In this week’s Creekbank Storyletter, I’d like to share about three juxtaposed places. Africa.  A week from today, my wife DeDe, sister Colleen, team leaders David and Renee Crane, and others …

Today is Journey # 1351 at www.creekbank.net. I thought you’d enjoy the first story I ever blogged on December 1, 2006. The Journey of one thousand miles begins with one single step. -Chinese Proverb   Catfish Lies: Straight from the Delta When is the truth a lie? We talk about “little white lies” and half-truths. Is there such a thing? …

    Know Those Who Serve. Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you. -Jesus in Luke 6:31 ESV His name was Raymond, and we met when we were both about eighteen. It was unlikely we’d cross paths, much less become friends. Raymond was an urban black man from Pineville, and I was a redneck fresh from the …

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 …

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 of so much grace and kindness.  The old Dry Creek I …

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 …

  You are not defined by what you drive “The most important thing about you is not the things you achieve; it is the person you become.” -Dallas Willard The loaded flatbed truck crosses Hwy 28 as I wait at the light.  It is hauling unusual cargo: three stacks of smashed car bodies. I wish I’d had time to count …

  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 …

Thoughts on Carrying a Lazy Man’s Load I’m guilty of it. Been guilty of it most of my life. That was proven again today when I was unloading my work truck and tried to bring everything in the house in one load. Just as I got in the kitchen, my iPad slid out from my armload of books, papers, and …

    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 …