"When you teach kindergarten for twenty-five years, you got a lot of energy ... and you gotta keep that flow going in your life, no matter what."
Susan speaks from experience. At 55 years old, she's livelier than most twenty-somethings I know. As we talk, she hollers enthusiastically at passersby, each of whom she knows by first name.
That's because she lives in the neighborhood: Susan sells Real Change outside the Walgreens on Capitol Hill's east side, and rents an apartment just around the corner.
"I'd never rented before in my life," she tells me, describing her move to the Hill. Before that, she lived on the Eastside and taught school in the Lake Washington School District.
And since then, she's been through enough to make most people throw in the towel. It seemed to have happened all at once: severe identity theft, foreclosure and her son's death.
"When my son was killed in 1990 by a drunk driver, I didn't think I'd even live this long," she says. "But here I am."
It's tough to pay the bills on a teacher's pension alone, not to mention the medical bills (Susan also has MS), so she started selling Real Change. Now, five years later, she's still at it, and has built a loyal clientele.
"This gives me a reason to get up and get out of bed," Susan says. "And I love my customers, I'd do anything for them."
And they love her, too, especially the kids: "They call me the helmet lady because I make them wear their helmets," Susan laughs. Then there are the bikers, "the cookie men" (you know who you are), and even the teenagers who adore her.
When she's not selling Real Change, Susan likes to spend time with her granddaughter, who loves seeing the sights on Capitol Hill. But when they're not exploring, you can find Susan selling at the 15th Avenue Walgreens, Monday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
And to anyone willing to listen, she offers a word of advice: "You can sit and snivel and complain about things that you have no control over in your life, or you can just go forward with it. For me, going forward's worked."