Thanks for sharing Barbara. For the Roses was my first journey into Joni's music too. Your cabin sounds like heaven to me.
Heather At 07:52 AM 1/8/02 -0800, Steven & Babara Hirahara wrote: >By the time I was 19 I had a beautiful baby girl, buried both of my parents, I >was raising my little brother and had been married and divorced. I had fallen >in with a wonderful women named Gina who had offered to do my portrait in >chalk. > >She asked me to pose "straight," something I was loath to do for more than a >few hours. > >She said that loaded people gimaced oddly making it hard to capture their true >appearance. > >Gina turned on her record player ( an odd contraption that played large vinyl >discs at varying speeds) and I listened to Joni for hours. > >Time actually stood still and "For the Roses" took me to places in my heart >and soul that I hadn't visited in many years. I was surprised and stunned, >totally breathless and wanting more. "Ladies of the Canyon" and then "Blue" >but always "For the Roses" over and over for weeks. > >I felt like I had found the perfect score to my deep grief. > >I have often felt that if I met Joni today I would weep first for her >tenderness at underscoring my pain then dance for joy at her wisdom for >healing my sorrow. > >I am reluctant to join into the jargon et al for I cannot, conscientiously, >abbreviate what has touched my body, mind and soul. > >I've seen Joni in concert, once. Anaheim convention center, Court and Spark >era. She wore red chiffon. I will never forget how life was then, especially >that night. > >Joni Mitchell is the number one song writer, recording artist and performer of >my heart and soul. My children (all women, 15, 17 and 32) ask me to tell them >who my contemporary favorites are. I always recite Joni Mitchell as number >one. > >They are exploring new music techniques with the aid of computers and various >download processes. They have a wide variety of choices to view and review >new artists. > >When I was young you either got in the car and drove to the concert or hitch >hiked. You either stood in line and bought a ticket in advance or sneaked in >any way you could. > >My children have every affordable way to make and listen to music, and they do >it all. I'd like to thank Joni Mitchell for allowing me to let my children >explore their souls the way she allowed me, through beauty, tenderness and >spirit-filled love. Her artistry is a tribute to life. > >I haven't posted since September. I am building a cabin in the woods below >Yosemite and creating my own artist's haven. > >In the last year I have seen my children bury their father, watched my >soulmate painfully accept his family's decision to disown him, and I am now >moving our family home. > >I hope to keep posting when I have the opportunity. > >Love and Peace, Barbara Murray-Hirahara
