Best viewed in original size.

Mrs. Jackson is 95 years old. She was born in 1913, the same year as my mother, who died in 2002. She has seen so much in her lifetime, but one thing Mrs. Jackson never expected to see was a black President, especially one from whom she had received a kiss.

Whenever Barack and/or Michelle came to Detroit for campaign appearances, they often stopped by a senior center where Mrs. Jackson likes to go. One time a man sitting close to Mrs. Jackson, yelled out, "Hey, Senator Obama, how about coming over to say hi to my mother and the woman next to her. They are 98 and 95 years old!" Barack said, "I sure will! It would be an honor." He came over to where these two women were sitting and gave each one a warm hug and kiss.

Mrs. Jackson didn't tell me this story; her daughter Julie did. Mrs. Jackson, a former teacher, is not one to blow her own horn. But she never forgets. Oh, how I wish I could see what she has seen, both good and bad. If I could, I think I would live in a perpetual state of awe.