As a young woman growing up in a generation that praises celebrities, skinny models, every low-fat/non-fat/zero calorie product, it’s hard to remember or recollect our countries’ true historical moments and people.

As I walk into a Dixon, Calif. residents’ home, I put on my pink Armani glasses my mother bought for me. I quickly pull out my laptop and turn the ringer off my Verizon phone. I glance at the woman I am sitting across from, an 88-year-old named Pearl S. Lincoln, a woman who was married to the seventh cousin of our nation’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. I immediately wanted to crush my Armanis and burn my Ugg boots, I have history right in front of me, and all I could worry about before this interview was whether my pink shirt matched my earrings. Pearl was born on June 20 1920. she met her husband, Harry A. Lincoln Jr. through a friend in Nov. of 1940 and married three months later in Feb. of 1941. Lincoln was in the National Guard and was called for duty in 1942. He died in 1994.

“We knew wthat we wanted so we decided to go get married,” Pearl said.” Then WW II came along and he was called out. He went to Stockton, then he finally ended up in England. It wasn’t the most pleasant but, you knew you had to do it, and you did it.”

Pearl has seen it all: from the bombings at Pearl Harbor, the tragedies during Vietnam to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our own soil.

“Pearl Harbor was a shock that shook the nation. 9/11 was far bigger, they came in and really killed, but WWII was a different kind of war.It was a war they said to end all wars, didn’t end all wars…they kept coming,” Pearl said.

16 million U.S. veterans of WWII are dying at a rate of more than 1,000 a day and now number about 2.5 million, estimates the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is why I think Pearl has a unique perspective on election ’08 coverage. She was married to a historical person who was also a vet for our great nation. I think our country needs to hear from people like Pearl who are considered “the greatest generation” of our nation. Happenings our youth could only read in books, we can learn from the “horses mouth,” and get a real life perspective.

“I think, with some work, Barack Obama could become a good president,” Pearl said. He’s got a lot to learn, but don’t a lot of us have a lot to learn? McCain scares me because I think he has been too much of a Bush man to be a part of what we are looking for. It’s going to take a lot of work to get us straightened out and to get us where we’re going. I don’t care who it is.”

In a world full of Chanel and Gucci, our youth needs more historical knowledge and awareness. I ask students to put down their iPhones and pay more attention to people like Pearl. Trust me, your grade point average and brain will thank you.