My Faith by Sylvia Suescun

Mama always taught us that you must trust God no matter what and that having faith and God would take care of all of our needs. However, this did not mean that you sit back and do nothing.

After working for the City of New York as an activity Therapist for about thirty years, I had contemplated retirement. Daddy always said that you must allow time in your life for your own self development. Each of my brothers developed businesses of their own. Herbert developed a flight school in Maryland and Edward extended his real estate business on Capital Hill in Washington D.C after they retired.

After my retirement I was aware that my monthly income was just about one half of what I had lived off of previously to cover my living expenses, With this income I was able to travel some and got by without any great problems. However, I had not amassed a great savings either, since much of my money was used for frequent vacation and other extras as needed.

I retired in 1998, in 1990 my sister and I discussed the decline of our parent’s health. Daddy had just returned from a trip to California to assist with “Little Edddie”, a six foot tall football coach, his first grandson. When he had suffered his first small stroke, while driving to the super market his ear hand ran off the road. Daddy said that there must have been some mechanical failure. His car was totaled of course, the next day and Daddy purchased another car, which was a blue 1985 Pontiac Bonneville. This was love at first sight for Daddy. This really became a problem after a while when it was time for Daddy to give up driving.

Well at this point, along with Mama, sister and I decided to be close by to keep an eye on the day today going on with our parents, Florence and I decided that we would alternate months living in the house with our ninety some year parents. I traveled from NY and my sister just moved from her house in D. C in to our parent’s house.

One day when it was my month to be in my home in Brooklyn, I think that I was still in bed around 10 AM one morning when the phone rang and it was Jennifer, one of my nephew’s friends in show business. Jennifer said “Aunt Sylvia would you be interested in playing a part of a grandmother for a TV commercial”. Her agent J.M Bloom was looking for older people to audition for this large Hallmark Commercial to introduce their 100th birthday cards. This was something that I had never done before and agreed to try it. Jennifer set up the appointment with her agent and I went for the audition. It was indeed an interesting and fun experience except to experience something new.

At the casting agent’s office, there were many people waiting. After filling out special information and having a Polaroid picture taken, I was called into a room with three other people. We were told to stand on the “mark” which was gaffers tape on the floor and then someone said “slate” and the casting people asked each of us our names and something about our selves. I think I remember saying that I enjoyed traveling. This was being video taped. After, this audition I just thought that I had fun and enjoyed meeting so many new people.

In the meantime it became my month to return to D.C to do help my Aunt’s Godmother and just then did I receive a call from my nephew stating that my agent had called and that I had a call back to audition. I really had to decide whether I wanted to spend the extra money to run back up to NYC for a day for this call back. My family encouraged me to go for it and take the chance. So I took the early morning metabolism and arrived just in time for the second audition.

This time there were many people in the audition room. I was offended because some of the people doing the audition were eating lunch. As you know, this kind of behavior would be unacceptable if you were being interviewed or interviewing for other jobs. After the interview, I returned to D.C on the same day. After being in D.C a day or time my agent called again to tell me that I was hired for the commercial.


After signing the contracts, I sent to some place in lower Manhattan for a wardrobe. They liked my audition outfit and only added a hat. I had to leave my entire outfit including shoes with them.

Oh yes, this was a large commercial. This commercial was filmed in Brooklyn and I had to report to the set about four days in a row. This commercial was introduced around Thanksgiving and shown with all of the Hallmark Hall of Fame shows and this was shown nationally. Each time the show aired I received phone calls from family and friends from all over the country.


This was an all black cast and it ran from 1990 to 1996. Our commercial was sometimes sown on the Today Show when they honored birthdays of 100 years old people.

In June 1991, my Godmother/ Aunt passed away suddenly while sitting on her front porch.

I was in D.C. at that time and we talked on the telephone that morning but could not complete our little chit chat because she had company. She happily told me that her visitor was dressed in a pretty pink outfit and that we could talk later. Aunt Gertrude’s Daddy’s younger sister was currently the president of her Senior Citizen’s group and very active at age eighty six.

She was a childless widow who lived alone in a well ordered house surrounded by a well kept yard with rose bushes and many other plants. When she opened her front door her house sparked.
She just loved to entertain her family. There were seven nieces and nephews and whenever we or anyone came to visit she would service whatever she had in her best crystal and China. The dessert might have been her special coconut cake or a dry box cookie but always served with style.


I was shocked when my cousin called and said she was ill and rushed to the hospital by the ambulance. My sister I hurried over to the hospital by ambulance. My sister and I hurried over to the hospital where we saw our cousin Herbert looking like a lost like a lost little bag. On our way to the hospital my sister and I explored ways of how we could care for the three, Mamma, Daddy and Gertrude.


The doctor called us in a room, my sister, my cousin Herbert and me and gave us the news.

My cousin Herbert said to me that my Aunt said that if she had any problems to call “Sylvia”. Aunt Gertrude had never talked to me about her business, all tough she had put my name on her bank accounts.


Although, she had set up forums regarding estate planning and wills for her senior group she had not signed her own will. There were seven heirs to my aunt’s estates all first cousins and of course I had to engage a lawyer. The young lawyer was a friend who helped me get the probate started but later had to give up our probate because he went to work at the D.C. Courts in the probate area. Since there would have been conflict of interest all of the work that he had completed for me was done Pro Bona and he also gave me step by step institution for completing the probate myself.

All of the fees and taxes needed for this entire process were paid with money made from Hallmark Commercial. I never had to ask any of the heirs for a cent of money during the six years.

The probate was settled in 1996 and I received my last residual after there was no need for the extra money. Both my Aunt and my parents enjoyed seeing me on TV before their deaths.

God gave me the resources to do what I had to do before I was aware that I would have such a need. I am indeed thankful for God, who certainly did supply all of my needs.