I would rather be ashes than dust !
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

Jack London on The Roamer, 1914, Oakland Estuary. This photo hangs in the bar behind the register.

Jack London, reading in the bar, circa 1886