CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

Fritzy, The Cat

June 15, 2017 | by CJ Woods III

By some mechanism that I cannot remember activating, I became a member of a neighborhood page, one that is named for my neighborhood. Judging from the posts, the page describes a place that I don’t recognize, though I live in it. It is a neighborhood foreign to me, filled with … Read More

A Call From a Friend

June 8, 2017 | by CJ Woods III

My pool team had been newly eliminated from a pool tournament, and as we packed our gear and disappointments — we’d played poorly and missed an opportunity for more money and a larger tournament — I got a phone call from a friend, and I was delighted by the sound … Read More

School Choice

June 1, 2017 | by CJ Woods III

U. S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ May 22nd visit, and her advocacy for “school choice,” reminded me of an incident of school choice with my eldest daughter. When her parents hauled Lisa away from her friends in Madera, California, to her new home in Clarksville, Indiana, she was not … Read More

Batting Average

May 25, 2017 | by CJ Woods III

When one of the co-owners of this paper told me that she had turned my social media posts into a column called “Words From Woods,” I was stunned, then – flattered. Though I had been conscripted into the service of this publication, I embraced and celebrated my capture. I had … Read More

A Bowl of Mints

May 18, 2017 | by CJ Woods III

I was trundling a small cart toward the door of the grocery and was about to pass a women in front of me when a man’s behavior caught my eye. It was about 10 a.m. and a sunny day. The man stood facing the open driver’s side door of his … Read More