CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

The Moaning of the Train

January 13, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

The train moaned an alert at 4:35 in the morning; I know this because I was awake. I’ve heard the alert during the daylight hours and when I do, will often cry out to my 3.7-year-old granddaughter, “Train!” Myah does not know a train in the way that I do; … Read More

Good Night, Steve

January 6, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

“What are your three favorite movies?” My friend Steve Nicewanger posed that question to me one night as I sat at his dinner table with his bride, Paula. As we moved from the feast and into the living room to watch some TV, I pondered the question. I tossed out … Read More

Do Some Good

December 23, 2021 | by CJ Woods III

From the front passenger’s seat of my friend’s car, I noticed a man running down the sidewalk. Washington Street was busy on this Saturday afternoon as my friend piloted us westward toward our meeting at our favorite cidery, and the man was galloping gamely, dodging slow-moving pedestrians, and ignoring stop … Read More

The Pittsburgh Left

December 16, 2021 | by CJ Woods III

Holding my granddaughter’s left hand tightly in my right hand, I waited at the corner of Ritter Avenue and Washington Street for the light to change to green. Myah and I were going to the Family Dollar store as a part of our stroll. She likes to shop because she … Read More

It’s Beginning

December 9, 2021 | by CJ Woods III

My roommate/daughter brought home a blow-up, LED-lit snowman, having already wrestled the Christmas decorations from the various places where she had stored them. She told her daughter that they were going to decorate, and Myah got excited, not understanding the magnitude of the occasion. As for me, I was already … Read More