Well, the only thing that hasn't changed about me is my height!  And I'll probably start shrinking soon.  Most of you knew me as Suzie or Suds London. I'm now going by my birth name... Suzanne.

For me, middle age has brought with me many "senior moments", so pardon me if my memories are lacking in accuracy.  I do remember that in the fall of 1971, I loaded my life in Scott Jacoby's car and followed by my anxious father and devoted aunt, we car caravaned all the way to San Francisco in record heat of 114 degrees.  They deposited me in my dorm room at SF State, stayed a few days and then I was on my own in a totally new city.

I loved San Francisco for many reasons...the climate, the city life, and the diversity of people.  Moving here helped me to do what I couldn't do in L.A. which was to "come out of the closet" as a lesbian.  The 1970's were great years for me.  I graduated from SF State in 1973, returned to LA for 6 mos., realized it wasn't for me and moved back to SF.  I got very involved in countering the anti-gay campaign brought to us by the former orange juice queen, Anita Bryant.  I volunteered at the Women's Center and Switchboard. I changed relationships frequently.  Ah, the joys of youth!  The biggest impact those times had on me, however, were the murders of our Mayor (George Moscone) and our first gay member of our city's board of supervisors (Harvey Milk).  In addition the Jim Jones cult suicides happened within one week of these assassinations.  If any of you saw the PBS and recent Showtime features "Tales of the City" on TV, those stories were very similar to my life in S.F. in the 70's.

I remember David Wertheimer coming to visit and "outing me" to a guy I had "tried" to date in college. (It turned out fine, as David must recall.)  I remember Scott living here for a brief time while he was getting his Master's degree at SF State...we used to scoot around on Scoot's scooter! Oy, those hills!  I remember  e-discovering Judy Thomas when I walked in to a local cafe and she was playing piano for a well known women's movement musician.  Sue Fink came for many visits along with Robyn and  Karen Bluel, and Stacey Blair visited while she was going to school in Stockton.  By day I was working in a bank because there were no jobs available in the social work field back then, but at night I was discovering the world of nonprofit via volunteering.

As I delved in to the l980's, I found myself working at non-profits and getting paid...much more suitable to my personality and lifestyle.  I ran kids programs at the YMCA which was great fun until I caught the chicken pox when I was 30 from some kid.  Then I worked for a community mediation program for a couple of years and in1984 I was hired a s a program coordinator for an organization called SAFE which provides crime prevention education and community organizing to residents here (neighborhood watch and the like).  When my boss left in l989, I became executive director.  I had to learn about city politics, master the art of schmoozing with the mayor's office staff, police department brass and local politicians...which was not really my thing.  But, I've managed pretty well I guess, because I'm still here!

Although I still enjoy my job, I'm ready for a change and next week I have an interview to become the director for a violence prevention program at Mt. Zion hospital here in the city.

Anyway, in the l980's, most of my gay men friends died of AIDS -- it's still hard to believe what a toll that disease has taken (including some of the NG's own).  My many relationships of the 70's settled down to two serious ones during that decade.  My heart, however, belonged to my best friend, Teresa, who was straight (or so I thought).  We went through the birth of her daughter (my goddaughter), her surviving cancer, her separation from her husband (not because of me) and a guru with cult-like tendencies.  Our friendship shifted to a closer, more intense relationship, but in the end, it didn't work out.  I was devastated for a long, long time.  She is no longer a part of my life, but her daughter is.  Her name is Zia, she's 14, lives with me part time and her dad the other part.  She is a great kid with a huge artistic talent, but quite a character....many ear piercings and a desire to be pierced in other places.

For those of you who might remember my father, he's almost 87 and broke both of his hips three years ago.  Unfortunately he never had the desire to walk again after the accident and remains in his Westwood apartment with a 24 hour attendant.  I couldn't have survived these past 3 years without our social worker who visits my father regularly and is an absolute angel!

Dealing with our aging parents is quite a challenge.  I have many friends who are going  through similar scenarios.  (My condolences to the Mr. R and Robyn and to David W. for their recent losses.)

Last but not least, I bought a very sweet house in a wonderful neighborhood here in San Francisco right before real estate went haywire!  I have the good fortune to be blessed with kind, loyal friends and co-workers.  I am grateful  to be able to provide a secure environment for my goddaughter.

That's life in San Francisco.  HAVE A WONDERFUL REUNION!!