CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

See You Later

November 7, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

“Dad!” My cellphone almost vibrated with my daughter’s enthusiastic exclamation. “I love Meg!” I was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to help my brother get ready for a hospitalization. My youngest daughter and I had decided to cohabitate, given that I am my granddaughter’s weekday caretaker, and Lauren’s burst of joy on … Read More

The Writer’s Art

October 31, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

A man came up to me as I sat in the Irving Theater and asked me, “Are you Mr. Woods?” I was waiting for the start of Al Hunter’s presentation of “Whispers From the Grave,” and when I confessed to the man that I was, indeed, he told me that … Read More

Brighter Reader

October 24, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

My granddaughter toddles across the carpeted area of her hardwood living room floor and lunges at me as I sit in the big brown “old man’s chair” her mother gave to me. Myah hands me the book she has selected from the reading corner Lauren has crafted in her room, … Read More

What’s Your Name

October 17, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

As my mother lay dying, she would occasionally indicate her cognition with brief moments of randomly recalled memories. She was often in a semi-conscious state, her failing kidneys, unflushed by medical means, leaving her sleepy, a condition her doctor foretold. But she would awaken, briefly, and startle me as I … Read More

The Helpers

October 10, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

“Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” – Fred Rogers On Friday, September 27th, the temperature was hovering around 82 degrees outside, and at approximately 3:50 p.m., a great rotted tree, already trimmed of most of its dead branches, collapsed and crashed into the middle … Read More