My Two Cents is a weekly opinion column from Bethesda resident Joseph Hawkins. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BethesdaNow.com.
I’m closing out the year by profiling 13 individuals who made Bethesda a better place to live, work and play in 2013. Seven individuals are profiled this week and the remaining six will come next Wednesday:
Nancy Leopold, CollegeTracks (5126 Manning Dr.) Nancy has kept CollegeTracks up and running for 10 years now. Getting underprivileged teens in college and making sure they graduate, is super important work. It is not too late for a 2013 donation.
Fred Namin, Cork 47 (4910 Bethesda Ave.) What would life be without a great bottle of wine? Thanks to Fred and his staff for all their great recommendations. But for the record, I’m still not sold on Maryland reds.
Dale Trupp, Fashion Craft Cleaners (5448 Westbard Ave.) What would life be without a perfectly pressed dressed shirt? Dale and his twin brother Darryl have been known to remove a few red wine stains over the years.
Janine Narayadu, Massage Meta (4709 Montgomery Lane) Bethesda is literally loaded with massage options. I think I’ve tried to tire them all (well not all — there are some unsavory establishments even in Bethesda), but I’m stuck on Janine because she is serious about getting the knots out. Janine, congratulations on the expanding business and the new location.
Irma, Vace (4705-07 Miller Ave.) I would not have guessed it, but Irma has been at the Bethesda Vace location for 32 years. Most customers think she’s the owner — she isn’t. She simply is the “saintly” woman behind the counter dishing out deliciousness.
Rick Brown, Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club (7719 Wisconsin Ave.) Kudos to owner Rick Brown for keeping our feet tapping to the beat. If Bethesda is home and you love live music, you owe it to yourself to check out live music at the Supper Club. And the supper is pretty good as well.
Miguel and Maria Gaona, Bethesda Barbershop (7219 Arlington Rd.) I profiled Miguel and Maria Gaona in a November column. I’m praising them both again because they are great examples of how individuals set out to make a simple living — cutting hair — for themselves and their families and end up contributing so much more to Bethesda.
Joseph Hawkins is a longtime Bethesda resident who remembers when there was no Capital Crescent Trail. He works full-time for an employee-owned social science research firm located Montgomery County. He is a D.C. native and for nearly 10 years, he wrote a regular column for the Montgomery Journal. He also has essays and editorials published in Education Week, the Washington Post, and Teaching Tolerance Magazine. He is a serious live music fan and is committed to checking out some live act at least once a month.
