Watty's feeling good about himself:

Hey, what's not to like? I'm one chapter away from finishing my story (of course, it's really only the first draft, but anyway...) and I more or less wrote the ending in my head as I fell asleep last night; Cameron's first day at school was a big success - it's much more of a rite of passage for his parents than for him: he trotted off unconcerned; we're going to the Prom tonight, courtesy of the BBC; and I heard form Janet. She's still talking to me, at least - I may have to give her a ring to chat about the old days. So, things are good. And I get to ramble about Joni...

37:

Joni Mitchell. Several of these memories will turn out to be more than one memory stitched together, especially this one. Let's see: I remember...

• Second year drama with Mr. Dunbar - "I'm going to play you some Joni Mitchell; I don't think you're ready for her yet, but this is Big Yellow Taxi. We're going to do some movement to it..."
• Airyhall Library introduced a record borrowing service: 'let's see, I know something about Joni Mitchell, maybe I'll try this live album (Shadows and Light). I fall hopelessly in love...
• Doing homework to Ladies of the Canyon
• Edinburgh - Wild Things Run Free.. - Chinese Café still haunts me, and I still have not heard a better version of Unchained Melody
• The first time I heard Court and Spark, in a flat in Edinburgh
• The first time I really listened to Hejira
• Yonge St in Toronto - at last, the full length version of Shadows and Light on CD - buying it there seemed so appropriate, like coming home...
• Graeme going to see her live in 1983 (or '84) - it's OK, I thought, I'll see her next time. I'm still waiting.

In so many ways, Joni has been the soundtrack to times in my life which didn't seem important at the time, but which turn out to be critical moments in retrospect - I was listening to Dog eat Dog in Inverness at the time when I was trying to decide about whether I should go for a job which required me to move to Perth, I was listening to Mingus on a weekend alone, as I started to properly get to grips with the depression. And there's always the clarinet solo in For Free.