Article Archives: Words with Woods

Make the Call

May 21, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

My friend’s voice on the call I answered was full of song: “I love, you, I love you, I love you…!” I laughed to hear it; it was a song from an artist I had introduced to her musical preferences long ago, one that we have loved and shared over … Read More

Zoom

May 14, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

Whoa, zoom, I’d like to fly far away from here… — The Commodores, with Lionel Richie My immediate family is spread out across the country, and this pandemic time has strained the fabric of our connectiveness. Where we used to impulsively announce a family gathering in, say, Forest Hills, Maryland … Read More

A Thing Happened

May 7, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

“We had,” the man said, then paused. He put his hands on his hips and lowered his head. After a moment, he raised his head and continued: “We had a thing happen.” He was standing in the doorway to the home I lease, a place he had entered and left … Read More

Spring

April 30, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

It was a sunny Sunday, and I sat on my front porch reading “The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen. An abundance of nature music made me lift my head, often. Birds called out, the audio track to a burgeoning spring, and across the street, a young tree, branches dusted with magenta … Read More

The New Normal

April 23, 2020 | by CJ Woods III

A few years ago, I was standing in the customer service line at a Kroger grocery store. There were people in front of me and some behind me as I waited to fling my money into the bonfire of chance called “The Hoosier Lottery.” (My investment advisor would tell me … Read More