CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

February is Black History Month

February 3, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

In December 2016, President Barack Obama pardoned someone from my old neighborhood, the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sala Udin was an early Freedom Rider, taking African Americans to register to vote in Southern states. Udin was arrested for speeding in Kentucky; an unloaded shotgun and a jug of moonshine … Read More

The Blossoming of Language

February 3, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

“Will you hold me, help me go upstairs?” The 3.0 version of my youngest granddaughter clung to me as I rose from the bed where we had been “hiding together” under the covers, playing with a flashlight. We counted the twelve steps upward, pausing at eleven so that we could … Read More

I Apologize

January 27, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

The bus stop I was standing at in Indianapolis has a sign: “Your neighbor helps you to keep this shelter clean. Please use the trash can.” On the sign is a picture of my neighbor, someone I do not recognize. The ground around the bus shelter is littered with trash, … Read More

Hack and Crack

January 20, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

My friend and I were sitting at the bar of our favorite cidery, having a tasty beverage and idly watching the muted big-screen TV mounted on the wall before us. I read some of the closed-captioned words on what appeared to be a cooking show and I suddenly became animated. … Read More

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