Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller

The report on Volkswagon’s infamous emissions scandal was in the news again last week.  The company is being forced to buy back VWs, repair the emissions controls, pay large fines, and not pass go/collect $100.00. Seriously, it is a stain on a company that has traditionally been respected. The report said, “VW fails on high stakes gamble.” High stakes gamble. …

As always, we want our friends and followers knowing how to pray for us. First of all, our hearts are so full of gratitude. Gratitude is one of my 6 Plus Words for 2016. It’s a grand word. Here are needs and opportunities for the coming week: I have two speaking events next weekend.  On Sat. April 30, I’ll be …

One taught me how to live . . . The other taught me how to die.   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 …

From the Curt Iles book,  Deep Roots.  www.creekbank.net  Readers are given permission to share this story as long as proper credit is given.   You’re the Man   I’d never heard of the Broken Wings Award until recently. I haven’t met helicopter pilot Edwin Steve Coleman, one of the few two-time winners of the award. I believe I’d like Chief …

                                                                A honeysuckle bouquet from Crooked Bayou Swamp   Honeysuckle time is when I always think of Mrs. Eleanor Andrews. Today is her birthday. Enjoy this story in her …

A Word from Curt This fun story features one of my favorite Dry Creekers, Uncle Joe Watson. Listen to an audio version of The Crow and the Peacock read by Curt. The Crow and the Peacock I was glad when they said unto me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”   As I write this, we are …

    It’s April 6. Whip-poor-will day. Let’s go to Dry Creek. Enjoy this reader favorite from our third short story collection, Wind in the Pines.     Whip-poor-will Day Hear that lonesome whip-poor-will, he sounds too blue to fly. It seems he’s lost the will to live, I’m so lonesome I could cry . . . -Hank Williams, Sr. …

A Word from Curt           Let’s go see the eclipse. It’s going to be cloudy all over the texas/Arkansas/oklahoma If we don’t go Worst case scenario, We’ll have ten hours of uniterrupted visiting   Baseball season opened this weekend. Our beloved Houston Astros were scheduled to begin play today in New York against the Yankees. Rained …

  It’s my favorite road in the world. We call it the Longville Gravel Pit Road. Folks in Longville know it as the Dry Creek Road. It’s a rough eleven mile track that connects Highway 113 and US 171. There’s so many reasons why this road is special to me. Below are several:   It’s a wildlife road:   I …

Corporal Howard Vidrine When I came to work at Dry Creek as a thirteen-year-old, one of the first people I met was Howard Vidrine. He served as the camp night watchman during my early years at camp. “Bro. Vidrine,” as we called him, lived in the Evangeline Parish town of Reddell, which is next door to the unique village of …

A Word from Curt “Why in the world did y’all move to Alexandria?” It’s a question I hear often and it’s a fair one. The answer is simple.  At this time, seven of our eight grandchildren live in Cenla. Dee and I strongly felt God’s leadership to spend this season influencing and impacting their lives. Here, in full color and …

It’s amazing that my deepest image of Easter doesn’t come from a memorable sermon, movie, or a book. My Easter theology was shaped by a simple country woman married to a former Texas Ranger.  Her name was Lucille Mosley and she lived on Greentown Loop in Dry Creek. This is her story.     The Tomb is Still Empty From …

        “Disregard that first message…” This is a funny story concerning our words. It’s a good reminder for that our words, once spoken, will either bring harm or blessing. And once spoken, they are out of the bag and cannot be pulled back in. Any school principal knows that phone calls from about 3:30 PM to suppertime …

When you pray, you’re holding the rope.  Here’s how to pray for us.   DeDe and I are both working as Chaplains for Marketplace Ministries. I’m assigned to Roy O Martin’s two mills and trucking fleet. DeDe also works at the Martin facilities as well as two  two nursing homes. It is a rewarding and challenging ministry. Pray for God’s …