The True Adventures of Suzy Q

By Susan Einarsson

Suzy Q led an almost unbelievable life. She got lost on a mountain, was involved in a murder, dined with royalty, had an unexpected pregnancy, experienced divine intervention, searched for lost gold in Sasquatch country, sold graves to the living, and had a mad love affair with a politician. She took on the media business and became one of the first women to work as a news anchor. Each incredible story ends with one of her original songs. Her adventures were nothing short of extraordinary. Some were life- threatening, some were life-changing – but all were life-making.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9780995318809

Book preview

The True Adventures of Suzy Q

Susan Einarsson

ISBN: 978-0-9953188-0-9

All Rights reserved. All materials under copyright © 2017

No one may reproduce, resell, perform, or distribute the contents of this book, in whole or in part, in any media, without expressed written permission of the author.

Music produced and performed by Susan Einarsson, Craig Zurba, Beverly Street vocals, Whitney-John Stuart, City Silence and Stars in this world with Carol Cockrum

All photographs and paintings by Susan Einarsson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 The Miracle

Chapter 2 Lucky Me

Chapter 3 LOST

Chapter 4 The Captain, the Gold and the Sasquatch

Chapter 5 Deception

Chapter 6 Puzzles & Poets

Chapter 7 Judging

Chapter 8 On the Air

Chapter 9 The Murder

Chapter 10 Dating

Chapter 11 Twist of Fate

Chapter 12 The Plot

Chapter 13 Talk Talk Talk

Chapter 14 Fire

Poems

New Book Sample

The Author Biography: Susan Einarsson M.A.

Enter Contest

SONG LIST

Chapter 1 Love got in the way

Chapter 2 Unlisted Heart

Chapter 3 Where will I go?

Chapter 4 I found love in country music

Chapter 5 Trailer stall 4B

Chapter 6 All the flowers & Out of the Blue

Chapter 7 What do you think

Chapter 8 The Valentines song - Commercial from play On the Air

Chapter 9 Beverly Street ** written by Tom Biemann

Chapter 10 Stars in this world so dark & City Silence

Chapter 11 You Refuse to move

Chapter 12 Catch the Big Wave

Chapter 13 Sanctuary

Chapter 14 Thunder in the Sky

‘Ever since I was a young girl, I have had a dream. I wanted just once to make some memories. Of living up the good life, without being anybody’s wife or momma. No, something just for me.’

Chapter 1

The Miracle

The doctor came into the examining room with the test results. She already knew what he was going to say. She felt queasy. He shuffled some papers, sat down, feigned a smile and said, You are pregnant. Thud. Her heart hit the floor like a dropped pumpkin the day after Halloween. Pregnant! How could this happen? O.K. she knew how it happened - what she couldn’t figure out was HOW this could happen. Didn’t she lose an ovary in her teens? Didn’t the doctors sit there with their sad eyes telling her she would never have kids? What happened to that tragic forecast? Her mind spun trying to make sense of it. She was NOT ready to be a Mommy. At twenty-five technically she was old enough but surely not mature enough to be a parent. Kids need parents.

Suzy Q did not see herself as a parent. Parents were stodgy married people with stable jobs and a mortgage. At the very least they had a yard and an extra bedroom. She loved not having responsibilities because she just hadn’t reached that level of maturity. She still rented a room in a house with her girlfriends. In fact, she was a coward and totally convinced a life of poverty and untold misery lie ahead if a baby were on the scene. She wanted a quick solution to a serious problem. She opted for an abortion. It was 1981 and abortion was barely legal. She had to go before a tribunal to get approval for the procedure which was granted. She hadn’t given a moment’s thought to what was happening inside her body. No one talked about that. All the girls she knew were just going on about how it was a good thing abortions were legal and they were all for it because a baby would ruin your life after all. Why it was only yesterday pregnant girls were hustled out of town to have their babies and then forced to give them up for adoption. Surely terminating them was a much better option.

She kept telling herself she wasn’t ready to commit to anyone or anything. In fact, she had canceled her wedding just a few weeks earlier because every time she thought of saying, I do, it came out, I don’t. Her career in the media was everything to her. Her entire focus and plan for life. She had a fantastic job as an afternoon radio DJ and loved it. Her plan was simple - become a star. She didn’t care much if she would become a famous radio star or maybe a singing star just as long as she became well known and had lots of money. Maybe it was just a cover for some deep insecurities but for now that kind of soul searching was not on the agenda. She had a much bigger, more immediate situation to deal with. She was so scared she was shaking.

The doctor made a phone call and handed her a piece of paper with a date on it. She thanked him and wandered out of the office in a terrified daze. Her little problem would soon be taken care of. She tried not to think about much over the next while, just ate a lot of crackers and busied herself with meaningless distractions. The day of the surgery arrived like any other and she rode in her mother’s car to the hospital. But something was bothering her. She wondered if she was doing the right thing. All the reasons for going ahead were clear. She loved her job. She did not want to get married. She was not a responsible person, she did not have a husband and the prospect of having to go on welfare was not appealing in the least. She did not believe she had the qualities necessary to raise a child. She was selfish and self-absorbed. All valid reasons for not having a child and yet some small doubt kept nagging away at her.

The closer they got to the hospital the more anxious she became. She asked her mother what she thought. Not taking her eyes off the road, mom said it was entirely her decision. Her mother always was a nervous driver but today she looked particularly nervous. Come to think of it her mom never really seemed that confident. A very nice woman but sort of bland, never taking a stand on anything, agreeing with everyone even when the last person she agreed with had a drastically different opinion than the person she had just enthusiastically agreed with the day before. She knew her mom took many strange steps to avoid conflict, careful to hide who she was, what she thought, what her opinions were, just in case someone got upset or caused a ruckus. Her mom was a reflection of others, whoever they may be. She remained an enigma to her daughter throughout her life which was really too bad because Suzy Q was very interested in her mother’s opinions and longed to know her better.

Sitting in the back seat of her mother’s car feeling every wave of morning sickness, she thought and thought as the miles clicked by. A singular future looming ahead. She was not religious but toyed with the idea of asking the big guy upstairs for some help. People always did that when there was nothing else to be done. Nowhere left to turn, the end of the road, the last resort. In the news, it was reported a study found when airline passengers thought the plane was going to crash, God was the most popular name on everyone’s lips. He suddenly became their new best friend, the go-to guy you could count on in an emergency. No, Suzy Q and religion parted ways years ago when she was a kid around the age of twelve. She hadn’t been to church for a long time, not since her parents gave up dropping her off for a few hours of Sunday school before driving away to something much more important like going for coffee with friends. So when her grade six classmates invited her to come to the church youth club meeting one afternoon, she agreed and being a popular girl at school, was elected president of the group that very day! After securing her presidency, she listened as the pastor opened a discussion about believing in God. The regular church kids had great responses although some sounded rehearsed. A few kids said silly stuff but others offered more serious thoughts and one particularly shy boy said something quite heartfelt. When it was her turn, Suzy Q fixed a defiant look on her face and said in a voice loud enough for all to hear, I don’t believe in God. I believe in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The silence was deafening. Everyone just stared at her, mouths hanging open, bums squirming uncomfortably in seats. Finally, the pastor said something or other and quickly concluded the meeting.

He showed up at her parents’ house a few days later when Suzy Q was out riding her horse a hill overlooking their place. She enjoyed riding because it got her out of the house and away from people. She liked being alone and was content with her own company most of the time. She watched sharp-eyed as the pastor’s car drove into their driveway and he got out greeting her waiting and worried parents with his head hanging down. She knew then her church leadership days were over and they hadn’t even begun. Shit. Rejection was shit. She sat up on the hill letting her horse graze while she waited for him to leave, tears stinging her eyes as she fought them off with every ounce of will she had. An overly sensitive person with an unhealthy penchant for feeling badly, she could barely survive life’s harshness and would crumble into a sobbing heap of self-loathing when offended or criticized. But she didn’t want anyone to know her weakness and hid it well with a well-worn F.U. attitude expressed in tough talk, a pretence of not caring and a swagger fit for a gangster. Emotionally, she resembled a human head that needed a skull, a hard outer shell to protect the soft squishy stuff inside.

It wasn’t long before the man of God got back into his car and disappeared down the highway. The conversation with her parents was a short one. Probably not a conversation really, more like just enough time to deliver some bad news and then scurry away. When she walked into the house, she pretended she didn’t know about any visit from the preacher. She grabbed a cold glass of milk out the fridge and joined her mother at the kitchen table. Typically, her dad had disappeared by this time. The only uncomfortable situations he had any interest in being a part of were the ones he created himself and there were plenty of those. Mom broke the news. The pastor was here today and honey I am so sorry but the parents of the other kids have insisted you cannot be the president of the church group, Mom paused, looked at the ceiling, took a deep breath and said in an apologetic voice, and they don’t want you to come back to the church at all.

There it was. Poor