CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

April 1968

March 31, 2016 | by CJ Woods III

“I stand here ironing, and what you asked me moves tormented back and forth with the iron.” — Tillie Olsen; “I Stand Here Ironing.” I was standing at an ironing board, pressing the white smock I wore as an attendant at a psychiatric institution when my friends Gina and “Byrd” … Read More

Tag, you’re IT

March 24, 2016 | by CJ Woods III

Decades ago, while sharing beer with a man, our conversation wandered into the new pasture of computer hacking. IT (Information Technology) was relatively new and the unlawful practice of intruding on another person or organization’s computer — “hacking” — was growing in popularity. I expressed anger and contempt for people … Read More

Set His Boat on the Wide Water

March 17, 2016 | by CJ Woods III

A favorite author has died. Pat Conroy, whose works include many of the books I have read and own, died on March 4 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He died at age 70, an age close to my own, of a disease that claimed my good friend, Bill … Read More

Coffee, a Sandwich and Kindness

March 3, 2016 | by CJ Woods III

I walked into the coffee shop and stood at the counter, scanning the chalked menu. I asked the barista for an “Americano,” a beverage that I’d had before, and in a bright, challenging voice, she asked me, “How adventurous are you?” The challenge amused me, and when she finished listing … Read More

The Magical Time

February 25, 2016 | by CJ Woods III

Six musicians sit around a table in comfortable conversation. One of them, a fiddler, sits beneath a fixture shaped like an old-time oil lantern and the weak light from it glows in reflection from her white-blond hair. Soon, a brush-fire of delight is struck, plucked from the strings of a … Read More