I briefly mentioned parental infallibility recently, and that lead me to seek out a story related to the topic from Hemingway, called “Indian Camp.” I should warn you, though, that if the story were a movie it would probably need an “R” rating for language and violence.

But today’s “Other People’s Words,” are the last few lines of the story, which are neither profane nor violent. They’re about the complicated issues of parenting, place, and dying.

“Is dying hard, Daddy?”

“No, I think it’s pretty easy, Nick. It all depends.”

They were seated in the boat, Nick in the stern, his father rowing. The sun was coming over the hills. A bass jumped, making a circle in the water. Nick trailed his hand in the water. It felt warm in the sharp chill of the morning.

In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quire sure that he would never die.