Inspiring Legacy: David and Carmen Kreeger's Journey to Philanthropy

David and his friends were enjoying a relaxing afternoon swim one weekend when into the club walked the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen:

I said, “Who is that?” One of the girls sitting with us said, “Oh, that’s Carmen Matanzo. Don’t you know her?” And I said, “No, but I’d like to,” so she takes me over and introduces me to Carmen.

Carmen Matanzo gave David a coy, offhanded greeting. He introduced her to his friends John and Rags, and then she went inside to change into her bathing suit.

When she returned, David was enthralled; she seemed even more beautiful than before. He quickly learned that she taught physical education at a private school for young women, and that she was an expert swimmer and diver.

By this time, he was more determined than ever to get to know her:

She was in the pool, and I swam over to her, but I couldn’t swim very well in those days. I swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of water on the way, trying to get there fast. “This water doesn’t taste good at all,” I told her. And she said, “Well, you know, you’re not supposed to drink it.” I said, “I don’t see any sign to that effect. Is there a prohibition against drinking the water?” She said, “Well, if everybody drank it, the level of the pool would go down.” “Not necessarily,” I said. “Fresh guy!” she responded. And she climbed out of the pool and left.

Undeterred, David continued his flirtation. He asked Carmen about her plans for the rest of the day, and she replied that she and her friend Martha were going for a dress fitting. Without missing a beat, David asked if he could go with them:

She and Martha looked a little dubious, and then they finally said yes. We took the trolley, which was very slow in those days. It went all around the residential area of Condado. Fortunately, the trolley was going in the wrong direction. It had to make a complete loop and couldn’t reverse, so if you missed your stop, you’d have to go all the way around Condado again. And that’s exactly what we did! It took another half an hour or so to get to her stop, so I had a good long chance to talk with her.