Thankful For the Music ~ And the Magic of  the Lyrics!

The Holiday season is almost here. We have so many reasons to be thankful for all we have had the privilege of doing over the past year. Music remains present in our lives. So many good feelings come from the music. 

One of our favorite songs to sing is "I Can See Clearly Now" 

The words have great meaning and we use it when working with the teens and families we work with at various agencies. 

Think about what these words mean as you read the lyrics to this great song. 

I Can See Clearly Now

Johnny Nash

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me down
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

Oh yes I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

Look all around there's nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead there's nothing but blue skies

I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day
It's gonna be a bright bright bright bright sun shiny day

We are thankful for the magic of music and the opportunity to share it with so many. Thanks to our wonderful musicians for all they do.

Watch for the rainbows in life and believe in the power of music!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all friends far and near!

Looking Back and Moving Forward

"I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship."
~ Louisa May Alcott
 

It has been said that looking back is not a good thing. The past is the past and can't be changed. I believe it's good to look back occasionally, merely for the purpose of seeing how far we have come. 

In 1988 I was living in South Carolina with my husband Marty and two children. Our daughter Kelly was hitting the rebellious teen years full throttle and I was torn between my nursing career or heading off to Nashville. I lost my focus right when Kelly needed me the most.

During that time, I saw Lois Lee, Director of Children of the Night, on TV.  I was inspired by her  commitment to helping teen runaways in Hollywood. I knew I would meet her some day... 

 Kelly, Lois Lee, Suzanne and Kelly's daughter Alie -
Volunteer Recognition Children of the Night 2007
Van Nuys, CA

When we were going through those tough teen years in South Carolina, we could have easily given up. I had to learn how to communicate better with a teenager who would not listen and most conversations ended up with slamming doors and hurt feelings. I had clearly lost touch.

As we started singing together our communication improved and I began to see the healing power of music. Discussing the lyrics I was writing and asking for Kelly's input in the songs created a safe zone for us to communicate.

When we  moved to California in 1990, I made a call to Lois Lee asking if we could come to Children of the Night and sing for the kids. The positive response to that first visit turned into an organization that has now worked with thousands of teens and families.

Back on Hilton Head, so many years ago, I could not have imagined how far we would travel using music to improve communication and now Kelly has a daughter of her own who has joined us in helping others....But life is full of surprises and messages on the path to your passion and purpose. So the next time you feel down and perhaps a little frustrated with what is going on in your life, look back to a harder time and see how far you've come.

 Alie, Kelly and Suzanne ~ California 2013

If you are wondering how Kelly and I made it through those teen years and started singing together, you can read our story and share the journey we have taken with the kids, the band and the lessons learned along the way.
 
The book "Some Day It Will Matter" and our music can be found at www.specialangel.com

All proceeds go to SpecialAngel Inc.  This enables us to bring our program free of charge to agencies helping teens and families.
 

Me and Bruce and 60,000 others - Hyde Park London

On the evening of July 14, 2012, I had a magical and uplifting experience with music at the center and Bruce Springsteen as the pied piper who brought 60,000 people together as one group united in the sheer joy of the moment. In London for 10 days, I called  my son's friend Dan Devita, who works with TKO/London. He invited me and my husband Marty to an evening concert. Dan arranged to get us on the guest list. It had been raining every day since we arrived, so the ground was thoroughly wet and the ground was so muddy, they shipped in tons of wood chips to place all over the grounds.

Carefully walking through the muddy
grounds, we met up with Dan who brought us up to a roped off VIP area with an elevated platform which gave us an awesome viewpoint and the rest was magic. What struck me most was hearing the different accents and languages being spoken around me.
The crowd was massive but totally respectful and polite. The music started and everyone moved with it. Bruce brought us all together as he played through his set list like it was the most fun he ever had and though the crowd was large, he seemed to connect with each of us as if we were all old friends. But weren't we?

 

Through the memories each song brought out, didn't we all know him and he us? Isn't that what great music is all about? When you hear a song and relate to it as if it was written especially for you? Yes!

 Thank you Bruce - for reminding me of the awesome power of music to bring people of all nationalities and backgrounds together as one. That night turned the flame up a little brighter in my soul and reminded me why I love using music to help kids and the awesome power it brings with it to heal, to inspire and to bring us all together. Special Angel Inc. has you as a role model of how it's done........plain and simple, with joy and sincerity...straight from the heart - you truly are The Boss!!

Many thanks to Dan Devita for a great evening with Bruce!!

Never ending energy!

Here we are jumping into a beautiful springtime in Southern California and Special Angel is on the move. Good things planned for the future. Our new website is almost ready!! We will have our book ready for downloading from most e-book sites soon. Be sure to sign up on our website for the mailing list if you are not on it so we can keep you informed.

This weekend,Marty and I have had the pleasure of watching Ryan and Kyle and Alie while Kelly and Rob are in Las Vegas celebrating Kelly's birthday. Alie has been texting back and forth with Kelly asking if she is having fun and the boys have been playing with their toys and putting leggos together making a train. They are 3 now and learning to share with each other. Alie is 10 and wants to be a singer so she is learning new songs to sing with us for our next visit to Children of the Night.

I am reminded of the simple things that make life special like the smile on a child's face when they see you first thing in the morning and how good it is to just sit in the rocker with them on your lap while you talk about the day ahead. "What do you want to do today?" answer..."Let's take a ride. Let's blow bubbles .Let's do this. Let's do that. Never ending energy...........love it!! Enjoy the ride........It's worth it!

Happy Memories of The Waltons and Many thanks to our own Jon Walmsley

Hope you are all having fun getting ready for the holidays. A new year is fast approaching! We have many  good times to remember from this year and look forward to a great year ahead for Special Angel.

Our highly talented and much loved Music Director for Special Angel was featured recently on  The Today show with the other cast members of  the very popular television series The Waltons. Reunited after 40 years, the kids are all grown up now but the magic of  The Waltons remains. Their loyal fans continue to follow them today and the fan base grows as a new generation discovers them on the Inspiration Network.

Jon Walmsley played the part of Jason on The Waltons. He wrote the forward to our book, "Some Day It Will Matter" and mentions the influence of the Waltons and how it relates to today's world. We are most fortunate to have such a talented musician and special friend working with us to help troubled youth and families through music. Jon has been with us since 1995 and now partners with us on moving the Special Angel Project forward. Thanks to Jon, we have a multi-talented group of wonderful musicians bringing inspiration and hope to many.

You can learn more about our work using music to help others in our book and on our web site. The book and our music can be purchased on the site.  www.specialangel.com

Time for Thanks!

What a beautiful time of year and so much to be thankful for. For so long, I've wanted to start a guitar workshop for the kids at Children of the Night. Jon Walmsley and Howie Anderson, members of the Special Angel band, loved the idea. All we needed was a few guitars to leave at the shelter so the kids would be able to practice in between classes.

Thanks to LA Women in Music and their president Leanne Summers, Guitar It Up For Girls donated 3 beautiful acoustic guitars at Young Talent Night in September.


Our first workshop was held on October 27, 2011 at Children of the Night in Van Nuys, CA. The group was so excited and attentive and their comments in the program evaluations were proof positive of the value of this new venture.

Two weeks later, we met again  on November 8, 2011. The kids were just as excited and one of the girls was proud to show us that she cut her fingernails, as suggested in the first class, in order to play better. The group played a simple exercise together and it was wonderful to hear the sweet, simple sound of notes well played. They were so proud of themselves! I am so thankful to LA Women in Music for connecting us with Guitar It Up For Girls. 

We have been so blessed by our relationship with LA Women in Music. Last year they arranged a guitar gifting from Daisy Rock guitars at their monthly Young Talent Night. YTN host Leslie Stoddard is on the left in the picture and Leanne Summers, President LAWiM on right.

We bring the red Daisy Rock guitar along with us wherever we go and also use this as an extra guitar for the kids during class.
Even Ryan loves Daisy Rock.


LA Women in Music has a great article on their website about our  program and we thank them for spreading the word about our project and the great work done at Children of the Night by Lois Lee and her staff.

Alie, Kelly and I send thanks to all and appreciate this wonderful opportunity to share with the kids at Children of the Night.  The three guitars donated for the workshop have been joyfully received and this in turn gives us much joy and something to feel very thankful for on this Thanksgiving Holiday.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all from Special Angel

You Are My Sunshine :)

Last week, Kelly and I visited Children of the Night in Van Nuys, CA to sing for the teens there as we have done for many years with other members of the Special Angel Band. Our band leader Jon Walmsley was with us this evening and the kids were great. They listened and talked and shared feelings. Jon played some old Beatles tunes and they loved it. They even sang along and knew the lyrics to one of them. You just can't imagine how great it was to hear Jon play the Beatles and see these kids singing along.

Kelly and I sang some of our original songs and the kids really liked the lyrics. I'm always amazed at how we connect, no matter what. These kids have been through a lot and the one thing we try to do with our music is give them a chance to relax and reflect, share feelings and learn new ways to look at things that we experience in life. Through talking about how the songs make them feel or how they can relate to them, they become empowered. One of the kids commented that every song had meaning to it. As a songwriter, I think that was a great compliment. That's what it's all about. How great is the ability to communicate through music? Pretty darn great.

It was a good night but the best part came later when we brought Kelly home. We went in to have something to eat and the twins woke up when they heard us talking in the kitchen. The little ones are pretty good at crawling out of their cribs now. Kelly has twin boys, almost 3 now and a daughter age 10 who loves to sing with us. The boys, Ryan and Kyle, came out giggling and visited awhile. Soon, Kelly brought them back to bed. I heard singing coming from their room and walked over and stood by the door.

Then came the best part of the evening watching Ryan's face looking up at his mother as she sang to him softly, rocking him in the big rocker by his crib. As I listened to her sweet voice singing You Are My Sunshine, I knew that was the best song of the night. The smile on his face said it all. Music.......the universal healer and communicator. What a gift.