By Michael D. Wynne
All of the CenLa literary community is a buzzing now!
Local beloved author Curt Iles’ newest book, The Three Trees, has finally been released! Long-awaited for, Curt
has added to his long list of thought-provoking masterpiece works with a book beautifully prepared, full of wisdom, charm and everlasting benefit to anyone who will read it.
“I had something important that I wanted to say,” Curt told this columnist recently on a visit to his home. “I wanted to write about civility, southern manners, the importance of relationships and just plain old common sense. I had written it for our young people originally, but my life full of hard-earned wisdom that I gathered guided me to really write the book for all ages.”
Curt said that he originally named the book “;The Piney Woods Manifesto,” but thought the word, manifesto, might conjure up a false representation of what the book was about.
“This book is really what I believe in my heart,” Curt stresses.”I had to get my personal beliefs off my chest. But the real reason that I began writing the book is that I have two grandsons who are graduating from school soon. I initially began writing the book for them. But this book would really appeal to all of our children, our young people, both male and female. The book highlights the importance of leadership in developing one’s character.”
One chapter that I particularly like (though I like every chapter) is entitled, “The 10-4-2 Rule.” This chapter is about how to properly meet people, a skill some people never learn. In brief summary, when approaching someone, or when they are approaching you, there is a proper and neighborly way to address them. When one is about 10 feet from them, you should have direct eye contact. “You are silently saying, hey, I see you,” Curt notes. At the four foot mark from your fellow human, “give them a disarming smile.” That is, you can make your eyes and face smile in a friendly, welcoming way. Everyone, no matter who they are or what they do, wants to internally know and feel that they are both loved and wanted. That is the basic human condition.
At the two foot mark, there are verbal greetings and non-verbal cues representing various rituals of physical greeting. Our southern culture usually includes a handshake, regardless of the genders of the two people involved. Curt explains all of this in much greater and clearer detail than this columnist can ever present here.
Curt, a master of the written word, conveys his shared beliefs so stealthily that at times, this writer didn’t even realize that I was reading a book. His words flow so effortlessly and openly that my reading of the book ended before I had wanted it to, a rare “problem” that made me wish I had some of his other books. “The book is really for everyone to read, to enjoy and to think about in their own lives,” Curt added.
Curt travels the south, as he is greatly in demand, for public speaking engagements. The Three Trees as well as Curt’s many other cherished books, are available on Amazon. His e-mail is curt@creekbank.net. His Face book page is TheCreekTribe.
Buy his book now before they run out!
