Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller

      A Cup of Coffee at the Bentley   Yesterday, I asked, “Mike, did you have a cup of coffee this morning?” He grinned. “Sure. I got a hot cup from the Bentley.”   I met my homeless friend, Mike, at the corner of 2nd and Desoto in downtown Alexandria.  I asked, “Where’d you sleep last night?  Mike, …

Father’s Day 2024 As his oldest child, I had a front-row seat on my Dad, Clayton Iles’, evolution from a quiet, reserved young father to an exuberant middle-aged man. At each season of his life, he was consistently the remarkable man everyone loved. The Victory Dance During my sister Claudia’s basketball career, Daddy perfected his famous Victory Dance. After each …

Part 6 Faith: Riding the World’s Longest Escalator   I’ve been privileged to see so much of the world, and I’ve never seen a city more beautiful at night than Hong Kong. The view from across Victoria Bay is stunning. When I visited twenty years ago, five of the world’s top 10 tallest buildings were on Hong Kong Island. However, …

Lesson 5 Faith and Escalators:  South Sudan’s first escalator. Author’s note: Read the entire post before you think I’m belittling this sweet woman on her first ride. “We’ve only got three escalators in my good-sized town of 44,000. Two are in working order and is broken. I can’t make fun of anyone,”   It is hard to describe South Sudan. …

Faith: You don’t have to know how it works to ride an escalator “Escalators” Part 4   I stood in line at the airport entrance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. A sign stated that the entrance fee was 50 Ethiopian Birr (about $1). I paid the fee and pulled my suitcase into the renovated terminal hall. I stopped in amazement. …

A word from Curt Leaning Trees “When I observe a young person, I experience two strong emotions. First, I feel great affection for the young person they are. Then secondly, I feel a deep respect for the adult they will one day become.” -Louis Pasteur   On the morning before Hurricane Rita arrived, I made one last survey of my …

  Escalators Part 3: Once you get on the steepest escalator under Boston, don’t look back. It may disorient you and cause you to stumble. The way is always forward. Keep moving forward and upward. Life lesson: Always look forward in your life. The path is always up. Moving, Curt Iles You can read Parts 1 and 2 of “Escalators” …

  How to get on an Escalator  Part 2   We’ll be updating “Escalator Stories” this week at www.creekbank.net Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. -Hebrews 11:1   How do you get on an escalator? Very carefully With faith. Emma, Eliza, and I stood at the foot of the longest, steepest …

How to Ride an Escalator You can keep up with the evolution of this post throughout this week at  www.creekbank.net “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” -Hebrews 11:1   How do you get on an escalator?   Carefully and with faith.   I’m writing this week about an amazing thing called …

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    Scroll down to learn of ways you can be part of The Creek Family. My favorite passage from A Good Place. I read the following story to a senior adult group earlier in the week. One lady laughed so hard that I thought we were going to have to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on her. Here is it …

    Thoughts on Stewardship   Saturday, June 1 It’s the first day of a new month. June 1. It’s the first day of hurricane season. June 1. It’s my birthday. Number 68. 68. That’s a lot of hurricane seasons in Louisiana.   June 1. It could be considered the half mark of the year. It’s a good time to …

  James David Cain Recently, I was privileged to deliver an eulogy at the funeral of James David Cain. Below are my remarks in their entirety.  (I cut most of my speech due to time. That’s what happens when you have too many preachers on stage.) I hope you enjoy these thoughts on a man who helped shape my life. …

“When an old man dies, a library burns.” -African Proverb “. . . precisely like the old-fashioned school-master, of whom it was written, ‘ And still, they gazed, and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew.’ ” -Rhyme in old New England primer. I have so many elders who fit those definitions.