I am Suze. I guess from now on, I will be calling myself by my maiden name, Suzanne Hall. Let me tell you about my background. Music has been important in my family for generations. Reflection upon life has been also.

My Mom had an interesting family. Her folks were both musical. Her mother played the piano. My Grandfather met my Grandmother because he heard her playing the piano inside of her house as he walked by, and he decided that he wanted to meet her. My Grandfather was older than my Grandmother. He had already spent some time traveling across the country by hitching rides on the trains. He carried a mouth organ with him. He also carried three books with him: Emerson’s Essays, Plato’s Dialogues and Plutarch’s Lives. He died when my Mom was fairly young. I never met him.

My Mom was not afraid of being unconventional. She attended a Missionary College in the 1940’s that was associated somehow with the University of Chicago. She studied philosophy and religion. The University of Chicago abutted the poorer black neighborhoods where she went to the churches to listen to their music. She wrote a paper on this music for school. She heard Mahalia Jackson sing there at the time. I guess this was the period during which the Chicago Blues was developing. That’s my Mom.

My Dad is a gentle, humble person who emanates a presence that commands love and respect. He is the kind of person who truly treats all people as equals.

And this is where I come from. I am at a stage of life now where I feel like I am starting over again. Mid life crisis, you might say. But I really feel so very hopeful about life now. I have been denying myself my gifts for a long time and I feel that it is time to get on with it. I have a responsibility to take a chance on life even though I am so very imperfect.