A single pea is a banquet to the starving.

Speaking of real estate and Williamsburg, I just ran into a former neighbor--the woman who lived two doors down at our old place--at my favorite local bodega. She was pleased to see me, asked after G, then the dog (who she would always run away from while explaining "It's not her, I know she's a nice dog, I'm just terrified of them.") I asked how she's been, how her daughter is doing, and if the old hoody had changed at all.

"Oh my god yes. It's all white kids now. There's none of us neighborhood people left." On the word 'us' she motioned in a circle from herself to me to the store owner. The store owner nodded sympathetically. I nearly burst into tears. Us. Neighborhood people. I was included as an "Us".