CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

A Beautiful Day in the Neigh-borhood

September 26, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

Having recently been declared the winner in a bout with Covid-19, I stepped onto my porch and was promptly hailed by my next-door neighbor. “Hey!” called out Karen Davis, her pruning shears in her hand. She was attending to her wealth of flowers, which include zinnias that she had convinced … Read More

Family Affairs

September 19, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

A bag full of my Benton House Book Sale purchases sits on a bench at the foot of my bed; the mouth of the bag yawns, and books peek out from the maw. I rise from bed in the morning and pass the bag, ignoring the books. I can almost … Read More

Designer Gone Wild

September 12, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

While seated at the bar of our favorite cidery, my friend noted that one of the posters on the wall near our seats was hard to read. Paula Nicewanger, the Creative Director of this publication, wondered why a designer would craft an information piece that no one could read. Her … Read More

Come Sing

September 5, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

In January of this year, the Editor-in-Chief and the Creative Director of this publication both alerted me to the possibility of joining a gathering of singers. Ethel Winslow and Paula Nicewanger are “long-suffering earwitnesses to my outbursts of song,” and pointed me toward a more structured singing experience with The … Read More

The Dead Box

August 29, 2024 | by CJ Woods III

This column first appeared in June 2013. “I have to get you your inheritance,” my mother joked. “It’s in the dead box.” “Mom: I don’t want to talk about the dead box.” “You need to know what to do when I’m dead,” my mother grumbled. She handed me my inheritance: … Read More