CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

Neighborhood Generosities

August 14, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

On Tuesday, August 6th, 2025, a “National Night Out” block party was held in the 900 block of Hawthorne Lane, on the lawn of my neighbors Karen and Todd Davis. This was an opportunity to “be neighborly,” and to meet the police officers who patrol the area. Neighbors were encouraged … Read More

Booked Solid

August 7, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

This column first appeared in August 2014. “Uncle CJ, you have more books than me,” said my 24-year-old niece, looking in wonder at my book-jammed apartment. I chuckled, thinking, “I’ve had a bit of a head start.” I don’t know how many books I have. When I try to count … Read More

The Joy Of Film

July 31, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

My good friend Steve Nicewanger sent word to me with his bride, wanting to know my three favorite movies. I promptly named two: “The Hustler,” starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, and “High Noon,” with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. I struggled to name the third movie, but finally came … Read More

Implied Profanities

July 24, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

A professor of English at Indiana University Southeast once commented to his class that the use of profanity showed a lack of skill and acquaintance with the English language. I’m sure that I was not the only student who quietly snickered at that, though I was the oldest in that … Read More

Goodbye, and Good Luck

July 17, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

When I moved to Irvington in May 2013, I had been at least two years away from the primary care physician that had attended to me when I lived in St Louis Missouri. I cannot remember the sequence of events that prompted me to find a PCP in Indianapolis, but … Read More