Today, on the eve of the most historical political event in the United States Of America, I pause with heartfelt gratitude, to say how thankful and how blessed I am to be alive.

How incredibly amazing it is to be a part of the history my lifetime has given me as it's gift. I am at a loss for words to express the depth of emotion that floods my soul, when I reflect upon the things I have been able to experience and to witness.

To know that I can vividly recall the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the sadness I remember throughout the country, that I can still feel the pain of the assassination of Martin Luther King, that in my lifetime I've seen Malcolm X, heard the speeches of a young Jesse Jackson, witnessed the black Panthers, the growth of the NAACP, and desegregation. I've seen Negro's become blacks, and blacks become African Americans, and now an African American successfully run for President Of The United States Of America. This is not just another November eve. It is not just another race for the White House between political parties. This is not just about a black man about to take the most important office in this country, and possibly the world. This is that one moment, separate from any other moment in the past, or in the future, that will eternally embed the name of Barach Obama, an African American male, within the existence of every person now living, and every person that is to come.

I've experienced hatred first hand, around the world because I'm black. I've been in the south, and couldn't use a bathroom... whites only. I've been told what I'll never be as an African American female. I've been physically pushed out of line because I was black in South Africa. I've gotten on an elevator and watched as all the whites got off because I was there. I've been the little black trophy on display when white people need to say, "see, I don't dislike black people", I've been denied entrance into a restaurant, a hotel, and made to sit and wait for medical help. I've been called the "N" word so many times and in so many languages. I have not been anywhere in the world where I have not been reminded that my skin is black, and I have had to work 3 times as hard to have what I've had. I have also been poor in America, chronically ill without medical insurance, homeless in America. I've slept in a park, I've been hungry, unemployed in America, shot at, held at knife point... I've been a black female single parent in the United States Of America and by the grace and mercy of God, survived it all.

I am part of a generation that was born to change the world. In the midst of all the hatred I've seen in my life, I met and shook hands with a President. I stood before a king. I hung out with a royal princess. I met Nelson Mandela. I made it to Africa, pre apartheid. I made it back to Africa post apartheid in the first ever desegregated event in South Africa's history. I've been to the Palace in London. I've met a Prince. I've dined with royalty, graced the presence of Pavarotti, shared the stage with Michael Jackson. I've fallen in love in Rome. I've danced and publicly embraced and kissed a white boyfriend in America, I've seen the emerald Buddha. I've prayed and shared the gospel in cities all over this country and parts of the world, I've witnessed some of the poorest places on the earth, I've witnessed more wealth than we imagine exists, until we see that it does... I've seen so much, so fast, and I paid attention, so I wouldn't forget how blessed I was to be alive, and how significant the most seemingly insignificant person can be.

And here I am now, on the eve of the most historical day in the history of the United States Of America, when an African American male is winning the race for the most influential position of power in the world, the President Of The United States Of America! Oh how blessed and thankful I am to be alive!

I am one of 4 living generations of my family who's experience has been such to one degree or another. My mother met President Carter and worked under his administration, she is now 90 ... what an amazing miracle this November eve is for her! My daughter is now 27, preparing to study forensic dentistry, what a miracle this November eve is for her! My grand nephew is now 1 year old, what an amazing November eve this is for him!

So, I will watch with anticipation, and I'm sure a few tears, as the greatest moment of my lifetime unfolds before my eyes, when Barack Obama becomes the President Of The United States Of America, and the color of my skin will forever grace the walls of the White House, for the whole world to see! How blessed and thankful I am to be alive!

Pattie Howard