CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

Hustling

May 23, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

The knock at my door was my neighbor, and when I answered, Karen Davis presented me with a bunch of lilacs that she had clipped from her bushes. As she was leaving my porch, she was hailed by another person. “Wait, wait,” the woman called out as she hurried across … Read More

Come To The Music

May 16, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

“What is this?” My youngest granddaughter tapped a folder in my bag. “My music,” I replied to Myah. We pulled out the binder and I opened it. “Sing something, Clop,” Myah asked of me. I chose one of the Post-it notes that I used to mark the songs and began … Read More

Call Your Mom

May 9, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

On Saturday, May 9th, as I walked through Irvington with my friend, I saw a sign or T-shirt in a shop window. I did not turn to examine it more closely, but the message was “Call Your Mom.” It resonated with me because of a conversation with my sister on … Read More

Glasses On, Glasses Off

May 2, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

The young assistant district attorney approached the jury. She leaned against the rail and scanned the jury box. Alexandra Cabot appeared to be in her mid-30s, and in most of the previous episodes of Law and Order: SVU that I had watched, she wore glasses. But now, before she spoke … Read More

A Little Red Fox

April 25, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

The note written by my mother swam to the surface of the detritus of my life as I was searching for a pair of shoes. I found the shoes in a box at the top of a closet; next to the shoe box was a smaller box, decorated with a … Read More