Is he happy? To my mind, put this way, this question ("are you happy") almost always implies the achievement of a prolonged state of a singular emotion, whereas in reality there is no such thing as we all go through many, often polarised, emotions in a single day. And, given the complexities of life, can anybody really be happy for a prolonged period of time? (Skipping down the road with your first real true love at seventeen excepted, on the basis that those few weeks seem to last a lifetime!).

He's probably just like the rest of us - happy when the plane's on time (even if it's a Learjet rather than a 747), happy when he does a good gig, happy when he gets up on a perfect Spring morning, happy when he writes a song which HE thinks is good, etc.

But, also like the rest of us, he's only human, so after the happiness will come a cycle of the other emotions, on a daily basis.

Was it worth it? He'll be well beyond counting or valuing money by now, so he'll have the same personal self doubts we all get as we mature and start becoming more reflective upon our own lives. Here's my answer: We all think it was worth it just for "X", whatever "X" may be in each of our lives.

IMHO, he could have done nothing before he wrote "Mississipi", and I'd still acknowledge the greatness of his writing, which is not dependant upon elapsed time in terms of human lifespan.

Today, Wednesday 19 June, I've been tired, inpsired, hot, chilled, hungry, full, in Belgium, up at 30,000 feet, back on the ground, back in England, stuck in traffic and, right now, inspired as ever by Catters.

My wife is sick upstairs in bed, but I'm reconciled to that, there's a glass of scotch and a guitar waiting for me when I finish in here, and it's still light outside and the sky is blue. And I think I've written a great song, needs some fine-tuning, but I'M pleased with it.

That's sadness, that's happiness, that's worth, even if transient. It's the same for Dylan - he's no different to the rest of us.

Pete