CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

Zoom

Whoa, zoom, I’d like to fly far away from here… — The Commodores, with Lionel Richie My immediate family is spread out across the country, and this pandemic time has strained the fabric of our connectiveness. Where we used to impulsively announce a family gathering in, say, Forest Hills, Maryland … Read More

A Thing Happened

“We had,” the man said, then paused. He put his hands on his hips and lowered his head. After a moment, he raised his head and continued: “We had a thing happen.” He was standing in the doorway to the home I lease, a place he had entered and left … Read More

Spring

It was a sunny Sunday, and I sat on my front porch reading “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen. An abundance of nature music made me lift my head, often. Birds called out, the audio track to a burgeoning spring, and across the street, a young tree, branches dusted with magenta … Read More

The New Normal

A few years ago, I was standing in the customer service line at a Kroger grocery store. There were people in front of me and some behind me as I waited to fling my money into the bonfire of chance called “The Hoosier Lottery.” (My investment advisor would tell me … Read More

The Trees of Irvington

On the South Circle of Irvington, a great tree grows; it is on the east side of the circle, across from the park. The bust of Washington Irving poses mutely in the face of the massive growth, in contrast to my awe and wonder at the slow, inevitable destruction wrought … Read More