Singer, guitarist Glen Campbell is on his final concert tour entitled the “Goodbye Tour.” He has also released his final album entitled “Ghost on the Canvas,” which in my opinion is one of his best works.

As you may have read, Campbell, 75, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease last year. He still sings beautifully and plays guitar with the same skills that made him a recording session player on albums in the 60s by the Byrds, Elvis, the Monkees and as a touring member of the Beach Boys.

I’ve been watching videos of his performances on YouTube. If you put “Glen Campbell 2011” in YouTube search, they will pop up. He watches three video monitors on stage that scroll through his song lyrics.

Apparently his singing and guitar skills are contained in his long-term memory and are not affected by the disease. He does have trouble with short-term memory such as placing a microphone back in the stand or knowing what to do with a wrapper from a cough drop.

His backup band features two of his sons, Shannon and Cal, and daughter Ashley. His wife of 29 years is accompanying him on tour and helps him answer questions when he is interviewed by the media.

Campbell seems to be enjoying himself on stage. He’ll receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at a special event on the night before the Grammy Awards, Feb. 12. He brought us a lot of hits from “Wichita Lineman” to “Southern Nights.”

There are currently no concerts by Campbell scheduled for Philadelphia or Atlantic City but I did email his company with that suggestion.

I grew up watching Campbell’s television show. I vividly remember him singing “Gentle on My Mind,” with the song’s author, the late John Hartford. I even grew my hair like Glen in 1968. It’s hard to see your favorite people in decline. We expect them to always remain young and vital.

I’ve decided not to get any older. I want to remain at this age forever. A couple of recent events reminded me that I will get old and die, in particular, Betty White’s 90th birthday party on NBC Television.

She looked fine but it was scary to see Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner and Carl Reiner. They’re not supposed to get old.

An entire generation of entertainers I grew up watching have left this planet: Lucille Ball, Dean Martin, Jackie Gleason, Sammy Davis Jr., Harry Morgan, Rodney Dangerfield, Don Knotts, to name a few.

My favorite rock n’ rollers are 65-75 years old. We’ve already lost two Beatles. Of the remaining mop tops, Paul McCartney is 69 and Ringo Starr is 71.

A few more: Paul Simon, 70, Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), 69, Neil Diamond, 70, Mick Jagger, 68, Eric Clapton, 66, Little Richard, 79, Jerry Lee Lewis, 76 and Chuck Berry, 85.

I’ve come to realize that every generation ages together and collectively pass off this planet. We age as a group which makes it easier when we hang out with people our own age.

The interesting fact is we can look behind us and see the generation that will replace us in the workday world and make us irrelevant.

I’m in my 50s and I can see a generation of twenty-somethings that will replace my coworkers and me eventually. Decade after decade we move along with our peers not noticing too much that we are indeed gradually being pushed off the earth.

It’s happened for hundreds of thousands of years. Unless you write a book, compose music, appear in a movie or television show or commit a horrible crime, no one will even know you were here.

Comedian Ray Romano may have well summed up being in your 50s, “Everything hurts and I smell funny.”
We have a lot more sense in our heads as we age. A lot fewer of us would get married if we knew in our 20s what we know now. We do a lot of dumb things in our teens and 20s because we think we are invincible.

A lot of us question our choices later in life. I should have______. (Fill in the blank) It may be an educational, personal relationship or geographic choice.

Do we accept our fate gracefully or do we go out kicking and screaming? Do we buy a Harley Davidson, grow a beard and chase women half our age? My answer is yes.