Life is just a Memory Now – I’ll Just be Me, Glen Campbell | Eastern NC Now

    I watched the CNN special on Glen Campbell, "I'll just be Me" last night.

    Glen Campbell was just a poor country boy from Arkansas who rose to fame as a great session guitar player and then a pop singer and TV personality. Last night I saw another side of Glen that many people have seen in their families. In June 2011, Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six months earlier. I have not personally had any experience with family members living with Alzheimer's disease.

    They made a movie about his struggles in hopes that others might see the effects of the diseases it progress though the stages. While the CNN special movie was difficult to watch, everyone who has elderly parents or friends should watch it.

    Glen planned and conducted one last tour with several of his children as a backup band. They eventually had to end the tour in early 2012 because he could no longer function as a singing artist.

    The movie depicts his progress and the way his family reacts and how he at first denies he has a problem and then eventually follows the predictable path of deterioration.

    This is more than a concert Series as it shows backstage scenes and the ups and downs of a terrible condition.

    He lived a wild and crazy life of excess with multiple marriages and many highs and lows as well as addictions and recovery. The movie depicts a loving family who tried to support his wishes even when it was clear he could no longer function at his peak level.

    At 79 today, Glen is in the full grip of the disease and it appears the family is at odds on how to care for him. As with all debilitating diseases, Alzheimer's takes its toll on the family as much if not more than the paitent.

    All who will remember his music will usually gravitate to his big hits but I had an old eight track of his "Gentle on My Mind" released in 1967 album, which I played quite a bit in 1969.

    One song on this album is a love song about living for now as of there were no tomorrow. It may be appropriate to hear Glen sing Love me As if there was no Tomorrow