CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

Heat Wave

July 28, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

No: It’s not about the 1963 hit song by Martha and the Vandellas. A walk about the neighborhood in the early afternoon is something that only the hardiest among us can safely undertake. It is hot outside. As I write this, the temperature in Indianapolis is 90 degrees. With the … Read More

Need For Speed

July 21, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

On a trip to the grocery store, I stopped at a light at the corner of Washington Street and Arlington Avenue. When the light turned green, I proceeded across the intersection. Behind me, I heard the full-throated roar of someone’s muscle car, the screech of tires as it banked around … Read More

Can We Talk?

July 14, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

This column first appeared in the July 17, 2009 issue. I firebombed a conversational thread between my niece and some of her “friends” on Facebook. I took offense at a comment, and weighed in with a sharp, sarco-nasty rejoinder. I immediately regretted it. I sent her a private message of … Read More

Celebration

June 30, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

“Celebrate good times, come on!” — Kool and the Gang We have just emerged from the celebration of a new federal holiday, and we are sliding into the home of an old holiday. “Juneteenth,” the new holiday, celebrates the date in 1865 that enslaved people in Texas were notified of … Read More

Discuss Among Yourselves

June 23, 2022 | by CJ Woods III

Two teenaged boys riding in the back of a school bus stand up with AR-15 style automatic rifles and proceed to fire on the other students in the bus. Ultimately, 10 students were murdered by the two, who managed to keep police at bay with their superior firepower. This assault … Read More