LABOR DAY: Know those who serve
Get to know "every custodian, cafeteria server and maintenance worker on campus," Curt Iles advises students. "It's amazing how many friends you can make if you simply take the time to learn someone's name."
FIRST-PERSON: Two sisters
Curt Iles tells the story of two sisters whose years-long estrangement was healed amid the hardship of hurricanes that struck Louisiana in 2005 -- "two bad sisters named Katrina and Rita."
Reflections on South Sudan’s third birthday
ENTEBBE, Uganda (BP) -- His name was Independence. He was a child born on South Sudan's first day as a new nation. He was the first child born at a Juba hospital shortly after midnight, July 9 2011. The child, like the country, was full of hope and promise.
CHRISTMAS: A Gift from DQ
Writer Curt Iles of Dry Creek, La., acknowledges, "It may seem morbid to feature a casket for a Christmas story. … But to fully understand the true story of Christmas, we must realize that Jesus came for a purpose and it was fulfilled with His death and resurrection."
FIRST-PERSON: Seizing those special moments with your children
Curt Iles recalls the times when he and his three sons swam in Bundick Creek near their rural Louisiana homeplace -- times he says he'll never regret.
FIRST-PERSON: The Loyal Wedding
Curt Iles, a writer in rural Louisiana, makes peace with the "Royal Wedding" of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
CHRISTMAS: A stolen Christmas tree
DRY CREEK, La. (BP)--"I know I tagged a tree in this area." Those are the words of my neighbor, Mitzi Foreman, as she walks through our Christmas tree farm on a blustery Sunday afternoon. Together we search through where she tagged her tree the previous week.
FIRST-PERSON: The glow of giving
DRY CREEK, La. (BP)--It's the kind of December day Louisiana is famous for: cold, foggy, with a thick humidity that chills you to the bottom of your toes.
FIRST-PERSON: 2 teachers of gratitude
DRY CREEK, La. (BP)–It’s a beautiful word that gently rolls off the tongue –gratitude. It’s also a visible word: You can see gratitude when a person is full of it. The best lessons I’ve ever learned on thankfulness are from two unlikely teachers: a southern guitar picker and an African orphan teen. First, let me […]