CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

Clop

September 3, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

My oldest daughter told me that she heard her biological clock ticking and I told her that I was too young and cool to be called Grampa. In the tradition of my family — a tradition started by my sister — I came up with my own grandparent name: “Cool … Read More

Slingin’ Papers

August 27, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

When I was 10 years old, my older cousin was looking for someone to take over his paper route. The papers he distributed were to subscribers of The Pittsburgh Courier, a newspaper whose target audience was the African American community, and which was published once a week, on Thursday. Billy … Read More

The Sweet Sound

August 20, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

An episode of a TV series that I enjoy had a moment where two of the principals met in a tavern; a joyous overlay of the conversation that moved the plot line was the sweet sound of billiard balls being struck. I miss that sound. I was a pool player … Read More

Singing in the Rain

August 13, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

My granddaughter stood at the door to our home, looking at the birds that were fluttering around the food sources we have hanging in front of our porch. She pointed toward the “cheets” that she saw, and signaled to me that she wanted to go onto the porch to see … Read More

The Robin and the Sparrow

August 6, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

Robins began to build a nest in the elbow of the downspout at the corner of the house I rent. I would see them at work when I sat on the porch. They began construction sometime in late April. In February I went to a “Feathers and Fermentation” event hosted … Read More