President Biden rides bike trail
Six-and-a-half-year-old Miriam Moskowitz stood by the end of the Gordons Pond Trail with photo in hand and fingers crossed.
She was in the right place at the right time two years ago, when she was just 4, to get a photo with President Joe Biden on the beach.
Now, she was hoping the president would stop on the way back from a bike ride on the trail Aug. 11 to sign the prized picture.
The president rode solo, without first lady Jill Biden, but surrounded by Secret Service agents.
“We’ve seen him every time we’ve been here for the last two years,” said Miriam’s mother, Shayna Moskowitz.
She described the day they had that first chance encounter with the leader of the free world.
“We were already set up, and they set up right next to us. The press corps was right there and there’s a little girl in an American flag bathing suit. Every press [outlet] picked it up,” Moskowitz said.
The family from Gaithersburg, Md., has been trying to grab a presidential autograph ever since.
For little Miriam, a signature on her photo would mean more than Biden’s John Hancock on a jobs bill or international treaty.
“We asked and they said we could mail it to the White House and maybe he would sign it,” Moskowitz said.
Miriam held the picture out as the president approached. He smiled, but did not stop.
Miriam and her parents then headed for the beach, skimboard in hand, the photo still unsigned, for now.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
