Taking a stroll down memory avenue

So much of my old neighborhood has changed. Over there is the chic hair salon in the place where Little Things used to be, back when they actually sold little things - doll house furniture, those cute fuzzy mice that wore little costumes, teeny-tiny farm animals...Now Little Things has three stores, one selling clothes and jewelry, one selling trendy "brainy baby" toys, and one selling I don't know what, and none of them are fun to shop in. Here's the weird little jewelry store where the ice cream store used to be. Over there is the Japanese place that used to be a French place that used to be a diner and before that they sold clothes. The realtor that used to be the Purity Diner, the many realtors that used to be actual places you could shop in. The pizza place that used to be Carvel's. The shop that was a newstand until the owner was shot and has since been a long line of failed restaurants. The butchers, the shoe repair shop, the fish market, the deli.

Some other shops have been here forever: The Clay Pot (but didn't they used to be across the street?) The health food store (Back to the Land, they took over the store next door, too.), Zuzu's Petals (it used to be called Growing Things, but it's the same owner. Beautiful plants and flowers.), Tarzian Hardware, the pharmacy on the corner of Garfield, Snooky's Pub, that little grocery store next to the weird defunct bar, Leaf and Bean.

Many of the new stores have the neighborhood rejoicing, some of the ones that are gone will never be mourned.

I wonder if my son will feel this way about our current neighborhood 33 years from now.