““In truth we were quickly reaching--had likely enough already reached--the age where it no longer made sense to talk about "promise." It was around this time that I remarked to Max that no matter what we now achieved no one would say, "He's so young." Precocity had passed us by. "After twenty-eight," I sad sadly, "you're judged on your merits." "Unless one of us dies," Max corrected me. "Then they'll all say, 'He was so young.””