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Apple | Mar 04 2005

A conversation between my friend David and his then three-year-old son Jacob, subsequent to their visit to the aquarium:

—Dada, are you going to die?

—Why are you asking that, Jacob? Did you hear someone talking about dying?

—Well, Dr. Martin Luther King died out.

—Yes, that’s true.

—Are you going to die?

—Well, everyone dies eventually, Jacob. But you don’t have to worry about that. That’s far far in the future.

—When?

—Far far in the future.

—I don’t want you to leave me.

—I’m not going to leave you, Jacob. I’m going to be right here with you.

—Always?

—Well, yeah, always.

—(Really getting upset now) I don’t want you to die, because mama goes to work and then I’ll be all alone.

—Oh, you won’t be alone, Jacob. I’m right here with you.

—If you die, will I get another dada who talks just like you, and does things just like you?

—Jacob, you don’t have to worry about that. How about this. I promise not to die until I’m 100.

—When will you be 100?

—You just don’t have to worry, Jacob. I’ll be with you the whole time you’re a kid, and when you are an adult, too. Grandpa Joel was my dada the whole time when I was a kid, and he’s still my dada now that I’m an adult.

—Is Grandpa Joel going to die?

—Everyone dies, Jacob, but he’s not going to die for a long time.

—If he dies, I want a new Grandpa Joel.

—Sweetheart, don’t worry about it.

—Am I going to die?

—Jacob, people die when they are really really really old.

—I don’t want to die, because then I’ll have to go to a big field, and you’ll have to come back and get me and be my dada again.

—Oh, sweetheart, you’re not going to die.

—How can we not die?

—We just have to love life and stay healthy.

—If we stay healthy we’re not going to die?

—Right.

—We haven’t eaten an apple in a long time.

—Would you like me to go downstairs and get an apple? We can eat an apple now.

—No, let’s eat it after school tomorrow.

—That’s a real good idea.

—I don’t want anyone to die out. I just want Dr. Martin Luther King to die out and no one else.

—That sounds good, honey.

—Let’s watch the video now.

—Okay.

—And I want a snack.

—What do you want? Booty?

—Booty, bread sticks, and prentzels. And crackers. Just one kind of cracker.

—Okay, honey.