The Neighborhood: Gentrification

A recent evening I was walking my dog when a neighbor said hello to me.  Nothing unusual there.  He continued looking at me as I passed by.  He then asked, "Did you cut your hair?"  I responded, "Yes."  As I walked away I thought about my neighbor saying hello and commenting on my hair.  I noticed that he noticed me.  My neighborhood is changing and there are new neighbors who have moved in and unfortunately some are not so friendly.  I have extended greetings and some look right through me and walk by without a response.  There is one particular "new neighbor" whom I have said hello to more than once.  I know he hears me and yet he does not respond.  Sometimes this lack of acknowledgement can be stunning.  Just trying to be neighborly. 

Gentrification has come to my neighborhood and unfortunately some who have moved in look at me as though I don't belong there.  Meanwhile, I have lived on my block for 61 years.  There are still some old neighbors on the block and we have known each other since childhood and younger years.  To be fair, there are some new neighbors who do speak, are very friendly and guess what, they are not spoken to as well by the other newcomers.

There are times when I would like to ask my new neighbors about themselves but, they don't speak to me.  Oh well!