PRIMARY CATEGORIES

More on our latest book, ‘Where I Come From’

The latest news on Where I Come From I want to invite you to visit our Where I Come From Amazon Page today.   Reader feedback continues with, “Curt, this is your best book yet.” See for yourself. You can read six sample chapters on the Amazon page.  Reader beware:  Few readers who read Chapters 1-6 can resist buying the …

Read More »

FIELD NOTES Back Cover

  INTRODUCTION 4   FIELD NOTES (noun)   The process of observing and taking note of THINGS usually and recording THESE INSIGHTS  in a book.  A method of chronicling events and places.   Look in Piney Woods Manifesto

Read More »

On Being Confidential

On being confidential   It’s one of the most important traits of a strong leader. He can keep things in confidence. This leads to trust. Being confidential is also one of the most difficult parts of leadership. You’re going to have lost of information others don’t have, but you cannot share it without breaking confidence. Sometimes it will make you …

Read More »

His Name was Carl

  HIS NAME WAS CARL   “Although Adam was a friend of mine I did not know him well. He was far into his distance. He was deep into his well.” ”A Song for Adam” Jackson Browne   His name was Carl, and he froze to death last Wednesday night on the streets of Alexandria.   I didn’t even know …

Read More »

Getting My Hoot Owl Call Back

Getting my Hoot Owl Call Back. DRAFT: TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2025   I step out of my truck onto our family land in Dry Creek. It’s so quiet. No artificial noise. Until I make my hoot-owl call. I cup my hands to my mouth, “Hoot-hoo-hoot-hoot-hoot-hoot-hoot-alllll.’ It echoes back from the surrounding woods. I smile. I know I’m coming out of …

Read More »

An Open Letter to my home church, Dry Creek Baptist Church

  An Open Letter to my Home Church, Dry Creek Baptist Church:  The most important man you never knew. Robert Evans October 26, 1943- January 8, 2025 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”   –The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 3:16 Other than a few of us, no one remembers the name of Bob Evans and his …

Read More »

Proverbs 4 for January 4

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of …

Read More »

Join us on the Proverbs Journey

JOIN US ON THE 2025 PROVERBS JOURNEY As we start  a new year, I’d want you to make the Proverbs reading plan part of your daily Quiet time: Read the Proverbs Chapter that correlates for the day of the month.  (Proverbs 1 for January 1). The purpose of Solomon’s Proverbs collection is clear: PROVERBS 1:1. “The proverbs of Solomon, son …

Read More »

LANDING PAGE for ‘Where I Come From’

updated on Friday, December 27, 2024 Our favorite store, Foreman’s Grocery in Dry Creek, is open again! Stop in for some of the best boudin in Louisiana and pick up a signed copy of Where I Come From.   Where I Come From: Tales from the Pineywoods   66 new stories. 291 pages Paperback Price: $20.00 Hardcover $30.00 Kindle eBook  …

Read More »

Tolstoy on Life, Pain, and Empathy

  “I think it was Tolstoy who said something like, “If you feel pain, you’re alive, and if you feel the pain of others, it means you’re human.”   If you’ve got a platform and have experienced great pain, you should share about it.  

Read More »

Proverbs 25 for December 25

Proverbs 25 for Dec. 25   Ground-Truthing: Don’t repeat it until you’ve seen it with your own two eyes. ”What your eyes have seen do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret,” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ …

Read More »

“Medic!” The Battle of the Bulge

MEDIC! By Curt Iles   “Medic. Medic.” Nazi sniper Unerfeldewebel Franz Schmidt didn’t know any English, but in the case of the nearby wounded American soldier, he didn’t need to. The man’s anguished cries were beyond words. Medic. Help. It was somewhere in Belgium on Christmas Eve 1944, and Schmidt had never been colder in his thirty-two years. But he …

Read More »

Proverbs 21: Warnings and Examples

  The Bible is full of warnings and examples.   “When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬   https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.21.11.ESV

Read More »