CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

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December 10, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

In my kitchen, pinned against a wall, is a 2020 calendar, with each month featuring a different bird; as I passed it this week, I noticed that it still showed “Sparrow,” the bird for November. I am like many people in the digital world: I no longer rely on printed … Read More

Comes The Time

December 3, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

When my first child was young, her mother and I were in agreement about Christmas-time gift-giving for her. We got her things that were fun, things that were practical and things that she needed for her health and well-being. We made no effort to bury the Christmas tree in packages. … Read More

Thanks For The Time

November 26, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

When my mother was alive and I would visit her in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she would often ask her “Joni” to sing a song to her. My middle name in Jon, and my family nickname is Joni (pronounced “Johnny”) and my mother’s first three children used to sing together in the … Read More

The Clean Plate Club

November 19, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

In a segment of a series I was watching on Hulu, a character made reference to the “clean plate club” as he instructed another character about a peculiar torture. I was surprised to hear the term, as I’d never before, heard it outside of my childhood. My father frequently used … Read More

A New Leaf

November 12, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

A 70-degree Sunday afternoon had me on the front lawn, raking leaves. Not for the first time did I ponder on the tradition that leads to the act of gathering dead leaves into piles for the purpose of sending them off to another place. Neither of the two homes that … Read More