CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

The Phone Booth

September 21, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

In his 1997 novel Straight Man, Richard Russo describes “an old-fashioned telephone booth … you can enter and close the folding door behind you.” I paused when I read that passage, remembering just such a telephone booth at Jack Patrick’s Bar and Grill in St. Louis, Missouri. I have written … Read More

The Fear of Flying

September 14, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

Settle down: It’s not about Erica Jong’s book. At the neighborhood block party down the street from my house, I sat at a table with two of my neighbors and we discussed the ways in which our lives intersected. The main thread was embodied by the Australian Blue Heeler who … Read More

The Dreamers

September 7, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

“The Temptations” were on the Ed Sullivan show, and I was watching it with my fiancé at her parents’ house. I believe that the lead singer on the song, “The Impossible Dream” was Otis Williams, but I remember the camera showing a close-up and sweat was streaming down the soloists’ … Read More

No Labor Lost

August 31, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

In 1967 I was a student at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh during the day, and an employee of the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at night. In my position as an “attendant” at Western Psych, I was charged with the responsibility of watching the patients, some of whom — … Read More

Did You Feel That?

August 24, 2023 | by CJ Woods III

At about 6:00 a.m. on February 9th, 1971, I was awakened by the violent shaking of my bed. I jumped up and ran into the kitchen, where I saw my bride’s ceramic trinkets dancing across the top of the refrigerator and dropping onto the floor. Our apartment was rumbling with … Read More