Author Archives: James W. White

6/23/22 I saw wildfire today – flames reaching up through black smoke. I saw it from our front porch. The angry, dark red flames came toward me, from below our house, which didn’t bode well. And as the whop whop sound of helicopters circled, dipped, and dropped retardant we decided to pack. We knew warningsContinue reading “Wildfire”

Are you tired of old age? Has the novelty worn off? Do you want to return to those happy days of your childhood? Fortunately, the path that leads back to your youth is easy to find. It’s steps away from wherever you are, at a wonderful place without walls or doors called Dementia House. EveryoneContinue reading “Dementia House”

After most of a lifetime being near sighted, I’m suddenly far sighted. The change came about through a pact with ophthalmology. “We’ll remove your cataracts and install an artificial lens in each eye,” the doctor said. “You have to choose how you want to see for the rest of your life; near or far.” TheContinue reading “So Near Yet So Far”

I didn’t recognize my stuff when I came across a pile of junk in front of the apartment that wasn’t my apartment anymore. I stopped at the front door, thinking I might score something when I saw your book, the one you gave me. On top of a familiar-looking dresser, the one with the taped-upContinue reading “Oakland, 1978”

Dedicated to the Schmidt Family, Karl, Anna, Bruno, Ossi, Oskar, Erika, Anni, and my mother, Gisela I have an old mantel clock that belonged to my mother’s family, a crowd of eight souls, Oma, Opa, three sons and three daughters. The clock sat in their home in a village called Elbogen, in the era ofContinue reading “We Fixed The Clock”