CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

Door Gunner

May 30, 2013 | by CJ Woods III

“Door gunning. They’re losing helicopters and they need door gunners.” — Philip Roth, The Human Stain I am a pool player who has played in organized leagues for years. I know little about the players with whom I shoot because we seldom have conversations that branch outside of the playing … Read More

Stop, Drop and Shop

May 30, 2013 | by CJ Woods III

My eldest daughter gave my grandbeauties the option of getting dinner from beneath the golden arches; they accepted, with delight. In the car on the way home, they tore into the offerings. “I gave you guys the ‘Big M’ because you were so well-behaved while Cool Papa shopped for his … Read More

The Tyranny of Little Minds

May 23, 2013 | by CJ Woods III

In 1972 a young couple embarked on a trip to Acapulco, Mexico. They left from the Pittsburgh International Airport, where a jet-assisted propelled plane waited for them on the tarmac. Everyone scheduled to depart on that plane was on it, with the exception of the couple, who had been delayed … Read More

Grace Note

May 16, 2013 | by CJ Woods III

I was listening to someone being interviewed on a program on NPR (yes: I am that “I-heard-it-on-NPR” person) when the interviewee played and identified a grace note. I heard it at night while driving my car, and though I was laboring to change a section of my life, it brightened … Read More

The Squirrels of Orange Street

May 9, 2013 | by CJ Woods III

Squirrels littered the back yard of my house on Orange Street. They laughed at me when I came out there. They chittered in a walnut tree as I hammered another board onto the porch. My lard-butt lab, the yellow Allie, would give me a lifted eyebrow about the noise I … Read More