CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

The Box Man

July 10, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

In my house there are few rooms, and many boxes. (Sorry, John.) At some point in my life, I became enamored of boxes, so much so that I have added them to the list of things that my children will wonder about after I’m gone: “Why did Dad have this … Read More

The Rockets’ Red Glare

July 3, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

The administrator of a neighborhood page on a social media site recently posted a time-weary warning on the page. I’ll not quote it here, but the gist of it was that the members of the group should get a grip: July 4th, 2025, is coming soon, and fireworks will be … Read More

Barefootin’

June 26, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

On June 3rd, 2025, my neighbor and I walked around the block, looking for the fire trucks that we had seen. The trucks had just passed the “hot corner” intersection of East St Joseph Street and North Hawthorne Lane; the sirens were not blaring, but a bright red spiral of … Read More

Touching and Hitting

June 19, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

When my first child was very young and her mother and I would guide her actions, one of the cautions that we used with her was to “be gentle,” especially when she was overexcited and would slap at those who were trying to calm her. We would rub our hands … Read More

Intensely Personal

June 12, 2025 | by CJ Woods III

This column first appeared in January 2020. A new reader said to me that she found my columns to have been written from an “intensely personal” viewpoint. I mulled that over for a period of time before I admitted that she may be correct. The first words from me that … Read More