Roberts is a news analyst at NPR and a political commentator for ABC News who has won three Emmy Awards. She’s also a best-selling author whose books include “We Are Our Mothers’ Daughters.”
In Bethesda you can see change and continuity at the same time. The Bradley Shopping Center has been in Bethesda as long as I have. It has a wonderful bakery, Breads Unlimited; Kae Robin, a nice gift shop; and Bradley Care Drugs, a full-service drugstore with a great pharmacist. Fortuna’s is one of the oldest stores in Bethesda. It’s a shoe- and luggage-repair shop, and they do a fabulous job.
The Bethesda Public Library is a wonderful resource. I went there as a kid, my kids went there, and my grandkids go there now. It’s kept up with the times in terms of computers, but it still has old-fashioned librarians who are very helpful. It also serves as a community center—they have events there, and on any given day there’ll be enormous numbers of notices on the wall.
Round House Theatre is also a wonderful resource. We used to have to schlep out to Rockville to go to theater, but now we have one right here. And Imagination Stage is great for children’s theater. When my kids were little, they went to singing lessons and theater events nearby at Glen Echo Park, and now I take my grandkids there.
Bruce Variety is the best place on earth. It’s like an old-fashioned five-and-dime. Everything you could possibly want is there: back-to-school items, stationery, birthday-party items, household goods, and all kinds of great fabrics and trim and buttons. They always have seasonal things for Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, and other holidays.
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