CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

No Mysteries

July 26, 2018 | by CJ Woods III

My friend and I were sitting at the counter of the café in the Dalî Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, when she mused aloud, “I wonder what that dripping is on that bottle?” The bottle was on the serving counter behind the bar where the waitstaff prepared Café Gala’s various … Read More

What a Wonderful World

July 19, 2018 | by CJ Woods III

I see trees of green, red roses too… And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. A reader asked to meet, and we did so at the cidery where he had found the paper that graciously permits space for my column. We spoke and shared, and I learned — … Read More

The Elusive Butterfly of Understanding

July 12, 2018 | by CJ Woods III

Across my dreams with nets of wonder / I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love. — Carmen McRae; Elusive Butterfly The man next to me in the coffee-house had given me some sharp looks when I entered the big seating room — looks that were repeated as I sat … Read More

Imani and the Carolina Wrens

July 4, 2018 | by CJ Woods III

My cellphone sang with the ringtone I had chosen for when my 9-year-old granddaughter calls me, and I heard Imani’s frantic voice: “Cool Papa! Cool Papa! The birds are out of the nest!” While visiting with my grandchildren and their parents in New Jersey, Imani had pointed out to me … Read More

Independence Day

June 21, 2018 | by CJ Woods III

We are approaching the 242nd anniversary of the acceptance of Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee’s motion to the Continental Congress, made on June 7th, 1776, calling for independence from Britain. After heated debate, on July 2nd, the Congress voted for acceptance, and set in motion events that, as John Adams … Read More