Garrett Park, Maryland, as you may know, is the town where UD grew up.
Once she grew up, she went away to college and graduate school, lived in various cities, and then, fifteen years ago, bought her own house in the town.
Her latest article in the Garrett Park Bugle has her reminiscing a bit.
Anyway, turns out Sargent Shriver used to go to Holy Cross Church in Garrett Park. UD was at Holy Cross Elementary School (adjacent to the church) recently, to vote; she has also sung at some funerals in the church with fellow Garrett Park singers.
From a letter in today’s Washington Post:
On the day before Palm Sunday in 1964, I was a horse-crazy 12-year-old living in Garrett Park and had ridden my bike to Holy Cross Church for my Easter confession. As I leaned my bike against a wall, I couldn’t believe my eyes: Several people were seated on horses of different sizes, right in the side yard of the church. There was a dad with a handsome, dark horse and a mom with a young child in a cart pulled by a dazzling dun-colored pony, complete with English saddle.
The dad noticed me staring and asked if I would like to ride on the pony. I had never been on a real horse. He helped me up and led me around the yard several times, telling me the pony’s name was Daisy and that she belonged to his daughter, Maria. Thoroughly bedazzled, I have no memory of proceeding on to confession.
When I got home and told my parents this fantastic tale, my dad correctly guessed that my encounter had been with the Shrivers, who attended our church and in those less-congested days often rode their horses.