In Mortalitas Operor Nos Secui

I found out today that a friend of mine had died this weekend. He was responsible for giving me my first set of racing tires for my former race car - sure, they were used tires, but they were exactly what I needed at the time. He and I were never close enough to call each other on the phone and get together, but we had lunch a few times and we always chatted about the work he was doing on his cars. He was an engineer who was always working to use that skill to make his car faster. I've always been fascinated by using engineering in racing, and this guy was someone I KNEW who was making it happen. I've always been fascinated by the guy. The last time I talked with him was in November - we chatted about how his race in a national championship had come to an end 2 laps from the finish when something broke on his car and he went spinning off track. We were already looking forward to next year's event.

And now he's dead. Cancer. I didn't even know he HAD cancer. He was apparently very private about it and only a few people knew. That he LIVED his life so fully in the face of what he must have known was diminishing returns is quite humbling. I can hardly get the gumption to mow the lawn, let alone work on my own classic cars - and I'm not dying. Where does one find that kind of motivation? Does one have to look death eye-to-eye in order to gain it? Makes one wonder...

And I apologize to any Latin readers out there for my butchering the language with my title...but its the closest I could come to what I was trying to say...and in English, it just doesn't have any pizazz! Best of luck translating it, to anyone who tries...