The measure of a man

In his book From the Cockpit, Bruce famously wrote about the young American Timmy Mayer, who was killed at age 26 while racing, in terms which later seemed prescient: “Who is to say that he had not seen more, done more and learned more in his few years than many people do in a lifetime?

“To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.”