Article Archives: Words with Woods

Compassion

December 24, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

When I was a young manager of a small loan office, one of the older, more experienced and more cynical managers described my responsibilities as “chasing debtors for dollars.” That was because we were required to take collection actions against our own overdue customers. Those actions ranged from letters and … Read More

Together

December 17, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

Early one recent morning as I stirred awake, I slid my hand across the sheet and encountered a hard, flat object: a book. Though barely awake, I smiled at the memory of how it came to be underneath the sheet and comforter that had warmed me through the night, remembering … Read More

Flip the Page

December 10, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

In my kitchen, pinned against a wall, is a 2020 calendar, with each month featuring a different bird; as I passed it this week, I noticed that it still showed “Sparrow,” the bird for November. I am like many people in the digital world: I no longer rely on printed … Read More

Comes The Time

December 3, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

When my first child was young, her mother and I were in agreement about Christmas-time gift-giving for her. We got her things that were fun, things that were practical and things that she needed for her health and well-being. We made no effort to bury the Christmas tree in packages. … Read More

Thanks For The Time

November 26, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

When my mother was alive and I would visit her in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she would often ask her “Joni” to sing a song to her. My middle name in Jon, and my family nickname is Joni (pronounced “Johnny”) and my mother’s first three children used to sing together in the … Read More