Our mortality has been the subject of philosophers, poets and many religious tenets since the beginning of civilization. What happens to us at the end of our lives has vexed people all over the world. Growing old is not for the faint of heart.

I do not know the answer to life after death, but I am becoming uncomfortably familiar with the prospect of dying. I am in my eighth decade of life. I may soon become an expert on the subject.

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her friends set out to find the Wizard and the meaning of life. “Somewhere over the rainbow” is a place where I hope to be at the end of my life. No more aches and pains, bills to pay, lawns to mow, looking for lost golf balls and getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Just a lot of blue birds, way up high.

One of the challenges of being a senior citizen is recognizing the reality of our impending death while at the same time trying to be positive and hopeful about our future. The future holds promises of new discoveries, new friends, new family members and the hope that Mother Nature will treat us well. It is a place where we reconcile knowing that our time here is limited, and we did our best trying to be a good person, friend and citizen.

The past is the depository of all of our joys and sorrows, a garden of memories of departed family and friends, and a place to shelter our deepest secrets.

The greater Concord and Merrimack Valley region has a large and growing senior citizen population. Many of the issues concerning growing old center on our health and money as we near the end of our lives.

Every day in America, about 11,000 children are born and 7,452 people die. The comings are a cause of joyous celebration for many people. The goings are sometimes a more difficult matter.

Statistics tell us that every day in America, 1,182 people die from the effects of smoking, 109 die from vehicle accidents, 832 die from obesity, 47 die from AIDS, 93 die from gunshot wounds. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration has recorded more than 100,000 deaths from legal prescription drug overdoses. In 2017, New Hampshire had the third highest opioid death rate per capita in the nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 6.5 percent of hospital-related deaths can be attributed to hospital-acquired infections and medical errors.

The prospect of dying can be a depressing subject. The fear of it paralyzes some people.

Retirement is the pre-school for dying. It does not always measure up to it’s billing. Money has a great deal to do with it. So does attitude.

Florida is a popular retirement destination. It’s the Sunshine State, God’s waiting room and the land of golf. Some retirees buy homes located on golf courses there to eliminate the need to get into their car to go to the nearest golf course to experience nirvana. Perpetual happiness is delivered in a small, white ball.

Others are not so fortunate. They live on meager savings, worry about paying bills, the cost of health care, become depressed from the loss of friends and family, and fearful that they may end up in a nursing home not knowing their names or where they are.

Some people live lives full of regrets. I gave up on that a long time ago. It bears no fruit.

Boredom in old age is a thief. It steals time. I have witnessed elderly people who stare vacantly out of their apartment windows. I wonder what they are thinking. Some are shut-ins with limited mobility. Others may be sole survivors of large families, living only with memories. There is an army of them, living lives in quiet places, patiently waiting for the postman who never comes.

Keeping busy in old age is a great antidote to the prospect of watching old John Wayne Westerns and endless television reruns of I Love Lucy.

Some retirees enjoy gardening. Others find foreign travel agreeable. I enjoy writing. I am not particularly talented at doing it, but, if given enough time, I may get the hang of it. The time that I have left I will spend in the hope that what I write is worthwhile and written without malice, personal vituperative offensiveness or pompous insincerity.

I have strong opinions on many subjects. So do others. The Concord Monitor has been generous to all who wish to express their opinions on its pages. My Monitor offerings have largely focused on local government because the subject is such a rich source of material. We are fortunate to have a viable newspaper. Newspapers, large and small, have ceased publication all over America.

Advice is cheap; that’s why it is so abundant. Alice, in the Disney movie version of Alice in Wonderland, has fallen down a rabbit hole and is having a bad hair day. She sits on a toadstool and laments, “I give myself such very good advice but I very seldom follow it.” Sound familiar? My advice about growing old is to live well, be a good friend, be kind to people and animals, and be hopeful that the Social Security system doesn’t collapse before you do.

Some of my old friends chose to take the safe road in life, never rocking the boat, always avoiding controversial subjects for fear of offending someone. I chose to take the road less traveled. It is paved in yellow bricks.

(Jim Baer lives in Concord.)