It’s the White House on the Phone, Son

If counting sheep doesn’t work, try writing to the president.

That’s what Tustin Memorial Academy first-grader James Taylor did.

James wrote a letter telling President Clinton that his fears of nuclear warfare kept him from sleeping. He also wrote that he worried constantly that the world was about to explode and that a foreign country would attack the United States.

The White House was so taken by the letter that one of Clinton’s aides arranged to ease James’ mind. On Monday, Brian Day, who works in the Office of Presidential Student Correspondence, called James at school to tell him that he had nothing to fear. He assured the 7-year-old that the world’s leaders are working hard to maintain peace.

Television cameras, photographers and reporters were on hand to record the prearranged phone call. But it was a one-sided conversation: Even though the brown-haired boy had cue cards with prepared questions, he skipped them.

James, his cheeks turned fire-engine red, cringed at the attention. He mumbled a few words in response to Day’s soothing and appeared eager to escape: He took the first opportunity to retreat from the blinding lights.

“I didn’t ask him any questions, actually,” he said later.

James’ fears began several weeks ago and were triggered by comments made by a 10-year-old playmate, said the boy’s mother, Marcia Taylor.

“A friend told him someone was trying to destroy the whole world,” she said. Eager to end her son’s sleepless nights, she suggested he write to the president.

“I needed help,” she said.

The letter told how the older boy had told James about “a certain man in another country that had an army of 500 men and was planning to create something that could destroy the whole world.”

Taylor said she had a hunch that Clinton’s office would respond.

“Then last week, we got a phone call from the White House,” she said. “They were going to answer any questions he had and, specifically, the ones in the letter.”

Although the phone call was less exciting than he thought it would be, James’ effort paid off, his mother said.

There have been no more sleepless nights since James wrote the letter, his mother said.

“At that point, it was over.”