#Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day

[murderousink23]

05/11/2024 is National Technology Day 🇮🇳, National Twilight Zone Day 🇺🇸, National Babysitter's Day 🇺🇸, National Train Day 🚂🇺🇸, Cornelia De Lange Syndrome Awareness Day 🇺🇸, National Miniature Golf Day ⛳️🇺🇸, Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day 🇺🇸, Eat What You Want Day 🇬🇧

[brookston]

Holidays 5.11

Holidays

Aso ote Tala Lei (Gospel Day; Tuvalu)

Azores Day

Blow Bubbles For Your Cat Day

Bob Marley Day (Jamaica)

Christmas Banned Day (Puritans; 1659)

Day of the Military Police of the National Armed Forces (Indonesia)

Empty the Tanks Day

Feynman Day (On “Eureka”)

511 Day

Fritillary Day (French Republic)

Hawthorn Day

Human Rights Day (Vietnam)

International Strange Music Festival

International Technology Day

Joan of Arc Day (Orleans, France)

Lokadagur (Iceland)

The Long and Winding Road Day

Mata Tirtha Aunsi (Mother’s Day; Nepal)

Military Police Day (Indonesia)

Miskolc Day (Hungary)

Mixed Race Irish Day

Moose Hide Campaign Day (Canada)

National Deer Association Giving Day

National Foam Rolling Day

National Forest Planting Day (Russia)

National Girls Learning Code Day

National Hairy Nosed Wombat Day (Australia)

National Wear Red Pants Day

National Technology Day (India)

National Tree Planting Day (Malaysia)

Old May Eve

Parthenope Asteroid Day

Richard Feynman Day

Sex Difference in Health Awareness Day

Somerset Day (UK)

Tubeless Tire Day

Twilight Zone Day

Victoria Sponge Day

Witching Day (Isle of Man)

World Ego Awareness Day

World Keffiyeh Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Ball Day (Sweden)

Eat What You Want Day [also 12.16]

Eat Without Guilt Day

Hostess Cupcake Day

National Mocha Torte Day

Independence & Related Days

Imvrassia (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Minnesota Statehood Day (#32; 1858)

Siam (Changed its name to Thailand; 1949)

2nd Saturday in May

American Indian Day [2nd Saturday]

Birth Mother's Day [2nd Saturday]

Black Fae Day [2nd Saturday]

Brunch for Lunch Day [Saturday before Mother's Day]

Cook With Your Kids Day [2nd Saturday]

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awareness Day [2nd Saturday]

Duckling Day (Boston) [2nd Saturday]

Global Big Day [2nd Saturday]

International Lugger Falcon Awareness Day [2nd Saturday]

International Migratory Bird Day [2nd Saturday]

Jamestown Day (Virginia) [2nd Saturday]

Letter Carriers "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive Day [2nd Saturday]

Martin Z. Mollusk Day (Ocean City, NJ) [Saturday of 1st Full Week]

Mother Ocean Day [Saturday before 2nd Sunday]

National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day [2nd Saturday]

National Archery Day [2nd Saturday]

National Babysitters Day [Saturday before Mother's Day]

National Bake Sale Day [2nd Saturday]

National Balloon Day (UK) [2nd Saturday]

National Cycling Day (Netherlands) [2nd Saturday]

National Dog Mom’s Day [Saturday before Mother's Day]

National Mild Day (UK) [2nd Saturday]

National Miniature Golf Day [2nd Saturday]

National Train Day [2nd Saturday]

National Windmill Day (Netherlands) [2nd Saturday]

Native American Day (f.k.a. American Indian Day) [2nd Saturday]

Prairie Appreciation Day [2nd Saturday]

Stay Up All Night Day [2nd Saturday]

Sun Awareness Day [2nd Saturday]

World Belly Dance Day [2nd Saturday]

World Binturong Day [2nd Saturday]

World Bonsai Day [2nd Saturday]

World Buckfast Day [2nd Saturday]

World Collage Day [2nd Saturday]

World Fair Trade Day [2nd Saturday]

World Migratory Bird Day (UN) [2nd Saturday]

Yale Day of Service [2nd Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning May 11 (1st Full Week)

Armed Forces Week (thru 5.18) [2nd Saturday to 3rd Sunday]

Brain Injury Awareness Week (thru 5.17)

National Mills Weekend (UK; thru 5.12) [2nd Saturday & Sunday]

World Migratory Bird Weekend (thru 5.12) [2nd Saturday & Sunday]

Festivals Beginning May 11, 2024

Bacon Festival (McDonale, Tennessee)

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival DC Metro (Washington D.C.)

Brews, Boils & Bubbles (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Buzz B-Q (North Little Rock, Arkansas)

Cochon de Lait Festival (Mansura, Louisiana)

Dillsburg PickleFest (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania)

Fairy Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Royal Humans Foundation Day (Shamanism)

Hiawassee Highlands Wine Festival (Hiawassee, Georgia)

Hickory Hops Brewer's Festival (Hickory, North Carolina)

La Ceiba Carnival (La Ceiba, Honduras) [thru 5.25]

Lotus Lantern Festival (Seoul, South Korea) [thru 5.15]

Maryland Craft Beer Festival (Frederick, Maryland)

MT Brewers Spring Rendezvous (Bozeman, Montana)

Mud Bug Boil Off (Thibodaux, Louisiana)

'Of Ale & History Beer Festival (Middletown, Virginia)

Oz Comic-Con (Perth, Australia) [thru 5.12]

Paradise Chocolate Fest (Paradise, California)

Paso Robles Olive Festival & Lavender Festival (Paso Robles, California)

Rip Van Winkle Wine, Brew & Beverage Festival (Catskill, New York)

Stilwell Strawberry Festival (Stilwell, Oklahoma)

St. Louis Microfest (St. Louis, Missouri)

Saint Pontius Fair (Barcelona, Spain)

Taste of Pennsylvania (York, Pennsylvania)

Verde Valley Wine Festival (Cottonwood, Arizona)

Washington State Chili Cookoff (Ocean Shores, Washington) [thru 5.12]

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (New York, New York)

West Virginia Strawberry Festival (Buckhannon, West Virginia) [thru 5.12]

Feast Days

Alfred Stevens (Artology)

Ansfrid (Christian; Saint)

Anthimus of Rome (Christian; Saint)

Asaph (Christian; Saint)

Chester Gould (Artology)

Comgall (Christian; Saint)

The English Carthusian Martyrs (Christian; Martyrs)

Francis di Girolamo (Christian; Saint)

Gangulphus of Burgundy (a.k.a. Gengulf; Christian; Saint)

Gladys Rockmore Davis (Artology)

Greet the Sun Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Ice Saints (Europe)

Ignatius of Laconi (Christian; Saint)

Jean-Léon Gérôme (Artology)

King of the Elements (Celtic Book of Days)

Majolus of Cluny (a.k.a. Maieul; Christian; Saint)

Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints (Christian; Saint) [Three Chilly Saints #1]

Ma Zu (Goddess of the Sea’s Birthday; Buddhism, Taoism)

Nimnim (Muppetism)

Nisga'a Day (Nisga'a Nation/British Columbia)

Paul Nash (Artology)

Paulus Aemilius (Positivist; Saint)

Radunitsa (Ancestors’ Veneration Day; Belarus, Russian Christians, Thomas Sunday Slavs)

Salvador Dali Day (Artology; Church of the SubGenius; Pastafarian; Saint)

Syn’s Blot (Pagan)

Walter of L’Esterp (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lemuria (Day 2 of 3; Ancient Rome) [Unlucky to Marry.]

Prime Number Day: 131 [32 of 72]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Ahab the Arab, by Ray Stevens (Novelty Song; 1962)

Cats (UK Musical Play; 1981)

Cooked, by Michael Pollan (Book; 2013)

Dark Shadows (Film; 2012)

Fantastic Planet (Animated Film; 1973)

Firestarter (Film; 1984)

Fox-Terror (WB MM Cartoon; 1957)

Go Down, Moses, by William Faulkner (Short Stories; 1942)

Good-Bye Mr. Moth (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1942)

Higher Ground, recorded by Stevie Wonder (Song; 1973)

The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford (Novel; 1960)

The King's Generally Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1946)

The Kissing Booth (Film; 2018)

A Knight’s Tale (Film; 2001)

M (Film; 1931)

MacArthur Park, by Richard Harris (Song; 1968)

The Natural (Film; 1984)

Penny Dreadful (TV Series; 2014)

Poor Little Me (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1935)

Road Trip (Film; 2000)

Second Variety, by Philip K. Dick (Novella; 1953)

Sniffles Takes a Trip (WB MM Cartoon; 1940)

Swab the Duck (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1956)

Tales of Brave Ulysses, recorded by Cream (Song; 1967)

Turn Coat, by Jim Butcher (Novel; 2009)

28 Weeks Later (Film; 2007)

Water Babies (Disney Silly Symphonies Cartoon; 1935)

Wolf! Wolf! (Mighty Mouse Cartoon; 1944)

Woodstock (Soundtrack Album; 1970)

Woolen Under Where (WB MM Cartoon; 1963)

Today’s Name Days

Gangolf, Joachim, Mamertus (Austria)

Kiril, Kirila, Metodi (Bulgaria)

Franjo, Mamerto (Croatia)

Svatava (Czech Republic)

Mamertus (Denmark)

Leevo, Liivar, Liivo (Estonia)

Osmo (Finland)

Estelle, Mayeul (France)

Joachim, Mamertus (Germany)

Argyris, Armodios, Dioskouridis, Methodios, Olympia (Greece)

Ferenc (Hungary)

Achille, Fabio, Fiorenzo, Marziale, Stella (Italy)

Karmena, Manfreds, Milda (Latvia)

Mamertas, Miglė, Pilypas, Skirgaudas (Lithuania)

Magda, Malvin (Norway)

Adalbert, Benedykt, Filip, Franciszek, Iga, Ignacja, Ignacy, Lew, Lutogniew, Mamert, Mira, Żegota (Poland)

Chiril, Metodie, Mochie (România)

Blažena (Slovakia)

Fabio, Francisco (Spain)

Märit, Märta (Sweden)

Asa, Ervin, Erwin, Irvin, Irving, Irwing, Marlo, Marlon, Marlow, Marvin, Merle, Merlin, Mervin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 131 of 2024; 235 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 19 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 27 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ji-Si), Day 3 (Jia-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 2 Iyar 5784

Islamic: 2 Dhu al-Qada 1445

J Cal: 11 Magenta; Foursday [11 of 30]

Julian: 27 April 2024

Moon: 15%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 19 Caesar (5th Month) [Paulus Aemilius]

Runic Half Month: Ing (Expansive Energy) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 53 of 92)

Week: 1st Full Week of May

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 21 of 31)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 5.11

Holidays

Aso ote Tala Lei (Gospel Day; Tuvalu)

Azores Day

Blow Bubbles For Your Cat Day

Bob Marley Day (Jamaica)

Christmas Banned Day (Puritans; 1659)

Day of the Military Police of the National Armed Forces (Indonesia)

Empty the Tanks Day

Feynman Day (On “Eureka”)

511 Day

Fritillary Day (French Republic)

Hawthorn Day

Human Rights Day (Vietnam)

International Strange Music Festival

International Technology Day

Joan of Arc Day (Orleans, France)

Lokadagur (Iceland)

The Long and Winding Road Day

Mata Tirtha Aunsi (Mother’s Day; Nepal)

Military Police Day (Indonesia)

Miskolc Day (Hungary)

Mixed Race Irish Day

Moose Hide Campaign Day (Canada)

National Deer Association Giving Day

National Foam Rolling Day

National Forest Planting Day (Russia)

National Girls Learning Code Day

National Hairy Nosed Wombat Day (Australia)

National Wear Red Pants Day

National Technology Day (India)

National Tree Planting Day (Malaysia)

Old May Eve

Parthenope Asteroid Day

Richard Feynman Day

Sex Difference in Health Awareness Day

Somerset Day (UK)

Tubeless Tire Day

Twilight Zone Day

Victoria Sponge Day

Witching Day (Isle of Man)

World Ego Awareness Day

World Keffiyeh Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Ball Day (Sweden)

Eat What You Want Day [also 12.16]

Eat Without Guilt Day

Hostess Cupcake Day

National Mocha Torte Day

Independence & Related Days

Imvrassia (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Minnesota Statehood Day (#32; 1858)

Siam (Changed its name to Thailand; 1949)

2nd Saturday in May

American Indian Day [2nd Saturday]

Birth Mother's Day [2nd Saturday]

Black Fae Day [2nd Saturday]

Brunch for Lunch Day [Saturday before Mother's Day]

Cook With Your Kids Day [2nd Saturday]

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awareness Day [2nd Saturday]

Duckling Day (Boston) [2nd Saturday]

Global Big Day [2nd Saturday]

International Lugger Falcon Awareness Day [2nd Saturday]

International Migratory Bird Day [2nd Saturday]

Jamestown Day (Virginia) [2nd Saturday]

Letter Carriers "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive Day [2nd Saturday]

Martin Z. Mollusk Day (Ocean City, NJ) [Saturday of 1st Full Week]

Mother Ocean Day [Saturday before 2nd Sunday]

National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day [2nd Saturday]

National Archery Day [2nd Saturday]

National Babysitters Day [Saturday before Mother's Day]

National Bake Sale Day [2nd Saturday]

National Balloon Day (UK) [2nd Saturday]

National Cycling Day (Netherlands) [2nd Saturday]

National Dog Mom’s Day [Saturday before Mother's Day]

National Mild Day (UK) [2nd Saturday]

National Miniature Golf Day [2nd Saturday]

National Train Day [2nd Saturday]

National Windmill Day (Netherlands) [2nd Saturday]

Native American Day (f.k.a. American Indian Day) [2nd Saturday]

Prairie Appreciation Day [2nd Saturday]

Stay Up All Night Day [2nd Saturday]

Sun Awareness Day [2nd Saturday]

World Belly Dance Day [2nd Saturday]

World Binturong Day [2nd Saturday]

World Bonsai Day [2nd Saturday]

World Buckfast Day [2nd Saturday]

World Collage Day [2nd Saturday]

World Fair Trade Day [2nd Saturday]

World Migratory Bird Day (UN) [2nd Saturday]

Yale Day of Service [2nd Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning May 11 (1st Full Week)

Armed Forces Week (thru 5.18) [2nd Saturday to 3rd Sunday]

Brain Injury Awareness Week (thru 5.17)

National Mills Weekend (UK; thru 5.12) [2nd Saturday & Sunday]

World Migratory Bird Weekend (thru 5.12) [2nd Saturday & Sunday]

Festivals Beginning May 11, 2024

Bacon Festival (McDonale, Tennessee)

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival DC Metro (Washington D.C.)

Brews, Boils & Bubbles (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Buzz B-Q (North Little Rock, Arkansas)

Cochon de Lait Festival (Mansura, Louisiana)

Dillsburg PickleFest (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania)

Fairy Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Royal Humans Foundation Day (Shamanism)

Hiawassee Highlands Wine Festival (Hiawassee, Georgia)

Hickory Hops Brewer's Festival (Hickory, North Carolina)

La Ceiba Carnival (La Ceiba, Honduras) [thru 5.25]

Lotus Lantern Festival (Seoul, South Korea) [thru 5.15]

Maryland Craft Beer Festival (Frederick, Maryland)

MT Brewers Spring Rendezvous (Bozeman, Montana)

Mud Bug Boil Off (Thibodaux, Louisiana)

'Of Ale & History Beer Festival (Middletown, Virginia)

Oz Comic-Con (Perth, Australia) [thru 5.12]

Paradise Chocolate Fest (Paradise, California)

Paso Robles Olive Festival & Lavender Festival (Paso Robles, California)

Rip Van Winkle Wine, Brew & Beverage Festival (Catskill, New York)

Stilwell Strawberry Festival (Stilwell, Oklahoma)

St. Louis Microfest (St. Louis, Missouri)

Saint Pontius Fair (Barcelona, Spain)

Taste of Pennsylvania (York, Pennsylvania)

Verde Valley Wine Festival (Cottonwood, Arizona)

Washington State Chili Cookoff (Ocean Shores, Washington) [thru 5.12]

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (New York, New York)

West Virginia Strawberry Festival (Buckhannon, West Virginia) [thru 5.12]

Feast Days

Alfred Stevens (Artology)

Ansfrid (Christian; Saint)

Anthimus of Rome (Christian; Saint)

Asaph (Christian; Saint)

Chester Gould (Artology)

Comgall (Christian; Saint)

The English Carthusian Martyrs (Christian; Martyrs)

Francis di Girolamo (Christian; Saint)

Gangulphus of Burgundy (a.k.a. Gengulf; Christian; Saint)

Gladys Rockmore Davis (Artology)

Greet the Sun Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Ice Saints (Europe)

Ignatius of Laconi (Christian; Saint)

Jean-Léon Gérôme (Artology)

King of the Elements (Celtic Book of Days)

Majolus of Cluny (a.k.a. Maieul; Christian; Saint)

Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints (Christian; Saint) [Three Chilly Saints #1]

Ma Zu (Goddess of the Sea’s Birthday; Buddhism, Taoism)

Nimnim (Muppetism)

Nisga'a Day (Nisga'a Nation/British Columbia)

Paul Nash (Artology)

Paulus Aemilius (Positivist; Saint)

Radunitsa (Ancestors’ Veneration Day; Belarus, Russian Christians, Thomas Sunday Slavs)

Salvador Dali Day (Artology; Church of the SubGenius; Pastafarian; Saint)

Syn’s Blot (Pagan)

Walter of L’Esterp (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lemuria (Day 2 of 3; Ancient Rome) [Unlucky to Marry.]

Prime Number Day: 131 [32 of 72]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Ahab the Arab, by Ray Stevens (Novelty Song; 1962)

Cats (UK Musical Play; 1981)

Cooked, by Michael Pollan (Book; 2013)

Dark Shadows (Film; 2012)

Fantastic Planet (Animated Film; 1973)

Firestarter (Film; 1984)

Fox-Terror (WB MM Cartoon; 1957)

Go Down, Moses, by William Faulkner (Short Stories; 1942)

Good-Bye Mr. Moth (Andy Panda Cartoon; 1942)

Higher Ground, recorded by Stevie Wonder (Song; 1973)

The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford (Novel; 1960)

The King's Generally Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1946)

The Kissing Booth (Film; 2018)

A Knight’s Tale (Film; 2001)

M (Film; 1931)

MacArthur Park, by Richard Harris (Song; 1968)

The Natural (Film; 1984)

Penny Dreadful (TV Series; 2014)

Poor Little Me (Happy Harmonies Cartoon; 1935)

Road Trip (Film; 2000)

Second Variety, by Philip K. Dick (Novella; 1953)

Sniffles Takes a Trip (WB MM Cartoon; 1940)

Swab the Duck (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1956)

Tales of Brave Ulysses, recorded by Cream (Song; 1967)

Turn Coat, by Jim Butcher (Novel; 2009)

28 Weeks Later (Film; 2007)

Water Babies (Disney Silly Symphonies Cartoon; 1935)

Wolf! Wolf! (Mighty Mouse Cartoon; 1944)

Woodstock (Soundtrack Album; 1970)

Woolen Under Where (WB MM Cartoon; 1963)

Today’s Name Days

Gangolf, Joachim, Mamertus (Austria)

Kiril, Kirila, Metodi (Bulgaria)

Franjo, Mamerto (Croatia)

Svatava (Czech Republic)

Mamertus (Denmark)

Leevo, Liivar, Liivo (Estonia)

Osmo (Finland)

Estelle, Mayeul (France)

Joachim, Mamertus (Germany)

Argyris, Armodios, Dioskouridis, Methodios, Olympia (Greece)

Ferenc (Hungary)

Achille, Fabio, Fiorenzo, Marziale, Stella (Italy)

Karmena, Manfreds, Milda (Latvia)

Mamertas, Miglė, Pilypas, Skirgaudas (Lithuania)

Magda, Malvin (Norway)

Adalbert, Benedykt, Filip, Franciszek, Iga, Ignacja, Ignacy, Lew, Lutogniew, Mamert, Mira, Żegota (Poland)

Chiril, Metodie, Mochie (România)

Blažena (Slovakia)

Fabio, Francisco (Spain)

Märit, Märta (Sweden)

Asa, Ervin, Erwin, Irvin, Irving, Irwing, Marlo, Marlon, Marlow, Marvin, Merle, Merlin, Mervin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 131 of 2024; 235 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 5 of week 19 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 27 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Ji-Si), Day 3 (Jia-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 2 Iyar 5784

Islamic: 2 Dhu al-Qada 1445

J Cal: 11 Magenta; Foursday [11 of 30]

Julian: 27 April 2024

Moon: 15%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 19 Caesar (5th Month) [Paulus Aemilius]

Runic Half Month: Ing (Expansive Energy) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 53 of 92)

Week: 1st Full Week of May

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 21 of 31)

[jamieroxxartist]

Today (5.11.24) is the Day! USPS Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive!

Each year, letter carriers across the country head out on their routes on the second Saturday in May (May 11, 2024) to collect donations of non-perishable food items to benefit local food pantries.

Simply leave a donation of non-perishable food in a bag near the mailbox on the second Saturday in May, and our letter carriers will do the rest. Participation is completely voluntary.

( www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/stamp-out-hunger-annual-food-drive-to-take-place-across-the-u-s/ar-BB1mbmFl )

[loscerritoscommunitynews]

National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

May 10, 2024 Each year, letter carriers across the country head out on their routes on the second Saturday in May (May 11, 2024) to collect donations of non-perishable food items to benefit local food pantries. Since launching in 1993, the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has grown into the nation’s largest one-day food drive, helping to fill the…

[nationaldayof]

Today is officially National Dog Mom’s Day; National Crouton Day; National Archery Day; National Train Day; National Miniature Golf Day; National Babysitter’s Day; Cornelia De Lange Syndrome Awareness Day; National Birth Mother’s Day; Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day; National Fruit Cocktail Day; National Apple Pie Day; and National Frog Jumping Day.

[nationaldaycalendar]

May 13, 2023 | NATIONAL DOG MOM'S DAY | NATIONAL APPLE PIE DAY | NATIONAL CROUTON DAY | STAMP OUT HUNGER FOOD DRIVE DAY | NATIONAL BIRTH MOTHER’S DAY | CORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY | NATIONAL FROG JUMPING DAY | NATIONAL ARCHERY DAY | NATIONAL BABYSITTER’S DAY | NATIONAL MINIATURE GOLF DAY | NATIONAL FRUIT COCKTAIL DAY | NATIONAL TRAIN DAY

May 13, 2023 | NATIONAL DOG MOM’S DAY | NATIONAL APPLE PIE DAY | NATIONAL CROUTON DAY | STAMP OUT HUNGER FOOD DRIVE DAY | NATIONAL BIRTH MOTHER’S DAY | CORNELIA DE LANGE SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY | NATIONAL FROG JUMPING DAY | NATIONAL ARCHERY DAY | NATIONAL BABYSITTER’S DAY | NATIONAL MINIATURE GOLF DAY | NATIONAL FRUIT COCKTAIL DAY | NATIONAL TRAIN DAY National Dog Mom’s Day | Second Saturday in…

[nvsrworld]

13/05/2023:STAMP OUT HUNGER DAY!

YES-We have to! Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day is observed on the second Saturday of May and takes place on May 13. It is the largest food drive in the country and takes place in more than 10,000 cities and towns. One in eight Americans face hunger every day and we want to remind everyone that they can help with this wonderful initiative. The Stamp Out Hunger Donor Drive aims to feed the hungry…

[chaoswithkaycee]

Christmas Dreaming

I grew up poor. I mean, below the poverty line even with three adults working poor. Holes in our roof so bad we could see the sky poor. We used WIC, food stamps, and church food drives to stay fed, and sometimes there still wasn't food. Most Christmases, we wouldn't have had gifts if it had been for charities and toy drives.

I don't want y'all to pity me or feel bad. I want y'all to understand how big the second picture is to me. There are gifts for all my nieces and nephews, for my parents (both sets), for my best friend, for my brother and sister in law, for my sister, for new friends and their kids, and even a few gifts going to charity drives. Most of these gifts will be getting delivered to their respective owners over the week.

But God, I never thought, as an 8 year old with hunger gnawing in my belly, that I'd run out of room under my Christmas tree.

But it's not just that - my bills are paid. I have a full pantry, a full fridge, and a full freezer. I have clean clothes, a clean house, and well fed pets. I spent the day having lunch with my dad and my youngest nephew, then going shopping for five hours with my youngest sister. I wrapped Christmas gifts while watching a Christmas movie. I still have some money left in my account.

And I ran out of room under my Christmas tree.

I just...can't seem to process it.

[womprat99]

The Thing About Today – May 9

The Thing About Today – May 9

May 9, 2020 Day 130 of 366

  May 9th is the 130th day of the year. It is Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awareness Day, which is observed on the second Saturday of May. Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) causes a range of physical, cognitive, and medical challenges.  It is a genetic disorder that even though present at birth, it is not always diagnosed at birth.  Affecting the physical and…

[ami-ven]

Happy National Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day!

[murderousink23]

05/13/2023 is National Apple Pie Day 🥧🇺🇲, National Frog Jumping Day 🐸🇺🇲, National Fruit Cocktail Day 🥭🥝🍍🍎🍉🍇🍒🍐🍌🍊🇺🇲, National Babysitter's Day 🇺🇲, National Birth Mother's Day 🇺🇲, National Train Day 🚅🇺🇲, Cornelia De Lange Syndrome Awareness Day 🇺🇲, National Miniature Golf Day 🏌️‍♀️🏌️‍♂️⛳🇺🇲, Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive 🇺🇲, Hummus Day 🇬🇧, Woeld Cocktail Day 🍹🇬🇧

[we-eternal-rp]

☄ 𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗨𝗘 𝟭𝟬𝟵. →    ❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐋𝐄 ❞

☄ →  magnetic island events; may !

MAGNETIC ISLANDS’ FOOD DRIVE

the 14th of this month is stamp out hunger food drive day, and as always the community of magnetic island is running a food drive. this will have been mentioned on notice boards and such, is an annual event, long time residents may already be gathering up non-perishable donations.     →  more details will be posted as this is a future mini event.

FOSTERING CREATIVE BEGINNINGS!

this month is national creative beginnings month, there will be fun events around the island such as author readings at the library of muses and books & crannies, a pop-up art exhibition, a community painting project at kick flip park, as well as some family friendly creative events geared to raise money for charities and give all a chance to begin a new creative hobby.     →  more details will be posted as this is a future mini event.

☄ →  magnetic island birthdays; may !

TAURUS   — 3rd may + arielle weaver aka. ARIADNE / @criadne​​ (24!)

GEMINI   — 25th may + aaliyah brooks aka. AMPHITRITE / @secstorms​​ (27!)

☄ →  showing @ pythia’s drive in!

rabbit proof fence (2002) — tells the true story of three aboriginal girls who are forcibly taken from their families in 1931 to be trained as domestic servants as part of an official government policy. they make a daring escape and embark on an epic 1,500 mile journey to get back home, following the rabbit-proof fence that bisects the australian continent.     ☄ + our australian film of the month, in honour of national day of healing.

don’t look up (2021) — an astronomy grad student and her professor make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. the problem: it's on a direct collision course with earth. the other problem? no one really seems to care.

carol (2015) — therese belivet spots the beautiful, elegant carol perusing the doll displays in a 1950s manhattan department store, the two women develop a fast bond that becomes a love with complicated consequences.     ☄ + our lgbti+ film of the month!

resident evil (2002) — a commando team must break into the hive, a vast underground genetics laboratory operated by the powerful umbrella corporation. there, an unknown event believed to have been caused by the lab’s supercomputer the red queen, resulting in the near-immediate deaths of the lab's personnel and lockdown of the hive.     ☄ + our anniversary film of the month! (20th anniversary)

encanto (2021) — the madrigals are an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of colombia in a charmed place called the encanto. the magic of the encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift -- every child except mirabel. however, she soon may be the madrigals last hope when she discovers that the magic surrounding the encanto is now in danger.     ☄ + showing in 3D!

☄ →  dates of note for the island; may !

                             + MONTH WIDE !     — national barbecue month, australians have always loved a good barbie — why not come down to trident park and make use of our free public barbecues!     — national creative beginnings month, several events will be happening island wide!     — national pet month, discounted checkups for pets at little wallaby vet clinic, the first and third weekend will have a no-adoption fee event at the little wallaby animal shelter and check out the local stores for cute pet-themed treats!

                             + AUSTRALIAN DATE OF NOTE !      — 26TH ! national day of healing — an exceedingly important day that’s been observed since 1998, it’s an event that’s designed to remember the mistreatment of australia’s indigenous peoples as a part of the ongoing reconciliation between themselves and the settler population & on this day the torres strait islander and the aboriginal flags are flown quite predominantly, most schools and those with flagpoles on their residence or business will fly one or the other, or both.

                      + MARK YOUR CALENDARS !

3RD ! paranormal day — this day encourages people to share their paranormal experiences with other people, commemorate it by visiting the supposedly haunted or spiritual heavy places, or even watch a scary movie.

8TH ! mothers day — a day to celebrate and thank the mothering individuals in your life; bring your loved one and an attached coupon to either cedar & stone or cygnus restaurant for a special mothers day desert.

12TH ! international nurses day — a day to mark the contributions made to society by nurses all over the world and to honour them, if you know a nurse make sure to tell them how much they are appreciated!

14TH ! stamp out hunger food drive day — of the best ways to observe this day is by getting involved and donate to the cause. see island events for the magnetic island food drive details.

16TH ! honour our LGBT+ elders day — a day to fly the rainbow flag, to don your colours or have a moment of silence to celebrate and honour those who paved the way.

16TH ! national piercing day — come to mad villain tattoo for a piercing and only pay for the cost of the piercing; jewellery and a mini bottle of aftercare spray included.

21ST ! learn to swim day — come to salacia’s aqua center and enjoy the inflatable obstacle course, attend one of the free swimming 101 classes... and all little swimmers 12 and under enter free all day!

28TH ! burger day — who doesn’t love a good burger? stop on by the white island hotel and try their restaurants’ variety of burgers... with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options too!

31ST ! national smile day — compliment a stranger, ask your barista how their day is, say ‘hi’ to those you pass on the street... do something to make yourself and someone else smile!

[baloobird]

Because I Said So

by @baloobird for @searching4sanity716 I hope you like this!!! 💜💜💜

This is my submission to the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange!!!

Ao3 Link (but it’s not revealed yet)

Words: 10.1k (hehe whoops)

Rating: Not Rated

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & May Parker, May Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, May Parker

**Slight Trigger Warning: mention of an eating disorder accusation but there’s no actual eating disorder. Attempted kidnapping while on patrol but it’s stopped before it goes anywhere**

Summary: He should be used to it by now, this almost constant state of hunger, and he knows he should say something to May.

But he can’t.

When his aunt found out about Spider-Man, she - understandably so - wanted to know any and all things about this double life: his powers, how they work, how they affect him, and the like.

So Peter told her everything…except for one small, teeny tiny detail.

That he now has a faster metabolism than everyone else.

-

Peter doesn't tell May that he has to eat more than the average person because he knows how tight money is for them. He knows his aunt can't afford it so why say anything? And besides, he's fine.

Honestly.

No way is this going to come back and bite him in ass…absolutely not.

Adding my taglist here but the fic will be under the cut. I hope you enjoy!!!

Taglist: @keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars @dexteritymisdirectionsuggestion @peuty @starkaroos2034 @marvel-us-world @podcastsandcoffee @bestofirondadfics @mmmmmmmmmchicken @riseuplikeglitterandgold @desirexwolf @theoceanphoenixhasrisen @ultravioletstark @just-the-daydreamer @my-leg-is-not-a-chew-toy @diminajackson @theofficialdeannawinchester @whatwasmyprevioususername @spidey-mood @autisticbabynurse @ironmanismydad @tinyandsteven @dreamingformuses @smokesteamair @intuitive-mathgeek @softrdj @legendarypenofeating @petermyspiderson @zselenophile @shymothstudios @and-so-my-adventures-begin @sarcasticmusic @fandomsofrandom @cluusheen @mjc-dream @emygirl @pxterbpxrker @pawprinterfanfic @innocent-until-proven-geeky @blackwatchandromeda @jaelyn-karrett @iron-damn @unnoted-invisible @pixeltrix-13 @anyonewantathroatsweet @m0ther-of-dragons @chaos-with-a-pen @spideynamu @bthtallmadge2 @verdonafrost @the-reverse-mermaid @icymapletree @kitkatwinchester @irondad-is-cannon-bitch @brushes-of-sage @ghostinthebau @canonismybitch @tmifangirl24 @loverofstuffsworld @stuck-in-a-fictional-universe @i-write-disney-not-tragedies @drowned-in-books @peanutdoodles @hauntedbybleachella @aelinasardothien @tonystark-built-this-in-a-cave @tonystarkweneedyou @spideygirl2003 @7peternotparker7 @justme--emily @dongjiayun @dykeragee @jmercer1997 @swagfictionreadingnerd @dredfulhapiness @fallenstar07

Let me know if you wanna be tagged!!!

Peter has been staring at that damn clock for about thirty minutes now.

But only one minute has actually passed.

Why do the last ten minutes of class always feel like another fucking hour?

Despite time moving as slow as molasses, the teenager keeps staring at the clock, seeing his life tick away closer and closer to death. 

Hey, it’s a hell of a lot more interesting than learning about the Industrial Revolution.

Whoever decided to make AP History the last class of the day deserves to be shot like Abraham Lincoln.

Ten more minutes until Mr. Stark. Ten more minutes until I can finally freaking eat.

As if reading his mind, the boy’s stomach releases yet another growl, so loud that a few of the surrounding students give him weird looks, making him flush in embarrassment.

The hero smiles sheepishly as he wraps his arms around his torso, hoping to suppress any more incoming rumbles.

God, he is so fucking hungry, as he has been for the last couple of hours.

He should be used to it by now, this almost constant state of hunger, and he knows he should say something to May. 

But he can’t.

When his aunt found out about Spider-Man, she - understandably so - wanted to know any and all things about this double life: his powers, how they work, how they affect him, and the like.

So Peter told her everything…except for one small, teeny tiny detail.

That he now has a faster metabolism than everyone else. With the powers of his super strength, stickiness, and “spidey sense”, it’s no wonder he developed an increase in his appetite as well. 

Of course he wants to tell May, he desperately wants to tell her to buy more food, to make enough dinner to feed four instead of two.

But he’d be an idiot not to notice how tight money is for them. Peter doesn’t miss the bills with the dreaded red stamp that states “past due”, or the student loan payments that she is at least a couple of months behind on.

“You, food, and shelter are always my first priorities, you know that,” May has said on more than a few occasions.

While yes, she always has enough for rent, food, and their phones, the kid would be lying if he said that their water and power have never been shut off. And he can’t count how many months they’ve had to go without wi-fi. 

Thank God libraries exist or he’d never get any homework done.

So the teen does what he can to keep from going completely insane from lack of food consumption: since he’s a part of that free lunch program, he thankfully always has a lunch - even though it’s not enough to leave him satisfied - and Ned, the wonderful, amazing best friend that is Ned always packs an extra apple or another sandwich to give him so he won’t feel like he’s completely passing out by the time history class rolls around.

But even then he can hardly stand it.

Peter keeps his arms wrapped around him, watching the clock at the front of the classroom like a hawk. 

Watching the last seven minutes tick by at the slowest possible speed.

The genius feels his head start to droop with fatigue and jerks it upright, keeping it from slamming completely onto his desk. He winces as he feels his stomach release another round of grumbling and squeezes it to keep it quiet, even though it won’t do him any good.

He ignores the more questioning looks from his peers but he doesn’t miss the sympathetic one his best friend is giving him from the next desk over. 

Peter looks away almost immediately. He already feels embarrassed enough for his obnoxious stomach, he can’t stand someone looking as if he’s a charity case.

Which is exactly why he hasn’t told Tony about this either.

He jerks his head up yet again after feeling it droop for a second time and stares at the clock once more.

Five minutes, just five more minutes, Spider-Man.

The teenager misses his masked alter ego. He hasn’t been able to don the red and blue as much lately for a number of reasons such as homework and decathlon.

The most annoying one being that he can’t patrol but for so long without Karen taking notice of his decreasing glucose levels which she would then send to Tony and the last thing he wants is for his billionaire hero to find out about his money troubles.

Peter takes a deep breath, constantly reminding himself to keep his eyes open, damn it, he refuses to fall asleep four minutes before the last bell.

He’ll sleep after he eats all of his hero’s food.

Because when he stays with Tony, he pigs out, eating enough food to feed a “whole army” his mentor has jokingly said.

And since Peter is planning to stay the night, he relishes in going back home that Saturday with a more than satisfied stomach.

Well, for a few hours anyway, until he gets to what his current situation is now.

The boy looks back at the clock.

Two minutes left, hell fucking yes.

God, he needs carbs if he has any hope of staying awake on his way to the tower.

He just needs food in general.

Any food…allllll the food.

The bell rings at long last, leaving Peter wishing he could race out the doors but he’s too sluggish to exert that much energy. Again, he ignores his friend’s pitying looks as he gets his things before walking as fast as he can to his father figure’s car.

The second he gets in and gives his mentor a tired smile, the volcano that is his stomach erupts in yet another growl, announcing the hunger it so desperately craves.

Tony giggles as he makes his way to exit the parking lot, “Somebody’s hungry, huh?”

You have no idea.

His protege sheepishly giggles himself, wrapping his arms around his stomach once again, “Uh yeah, sorry.”

“Only you would say sorry about being hungry,” the mechanic says with a snort, “McDonald’s drive-thru sound good to you?”

“Please, I can taste the Big Mac already.”

“How many do you want?”

“Uh,” Peter holds back as slight anxiety sets in, “Two?”

As they stop at a red light, his mentor gives him a deadpan look, obviously not believing him, and repeats, “Pete, how many do you want?”

“Four?” Said kid answers in a questioning tone, covering himself in case Tony thinks the number is too high. He then adds on, “All with fries? Please?”

Tony smiles down at his kid, ruffling his hair while keeping one hand on the steering wheel, “How many times have I told you that you don’t need to be shy around me when it comes to eating?”

“I know,” his interns says, slumping his shoulders but taking full advantage of this “curls massage” to keep his mind off his hunger, “I just feel bad -”

“Don’t,” the older man says, firm but keeping a gentle undertone, “If you’re hungry, you’re getting food, that’s the rule when you’re around me. It doesn’t matter if you want to eat the entire damn cow, you’re getting it.”

Peter feels a warmth filter through him at that, leaning closer to his father figure and smiling serenely at the hair ruffling, squeezing his stomach as it continues to gurgle periodically.

Tony lets go when the light turns green, his attention back on the road, “Didya even eat today, good Lord, kid.”

Barely.

“Yes,” the tyke responds, drawing out the syllable, “If I didn’t, you’d have to carry me to the tower.”

“That’s a terrifying image.”

“Relax, Mr. Stark, I’m more careful than that,” Peter responds with a cheeky smile. 

It’s true, he thinks. Despite the constant hunger, he’s always been careful, never letting it get to the point of him not functioning as a human being should.

Yes, he’s hungry all the time, but not that hungry.

It’s fine.

It’s fiiiiiiine.

“You lost me at ‘careful’, does the word ‘Vulture’ mean anything to you?”

“Hey, I stopped him, didn’t I?”

Tony rolls his eyes with a defeated sigh, “Yeah, touché.”

Peter snickers in brief victory as they pull up to the drive-thru ordering station, “Hey, I may be clumsy but I’m still careful.”

“Jury’s still out on that one,” his mentor responds with his own snicker before lowering his window, turning towards the microphone. After the usual polite greetings, he says his order, making sure to order for himself as well, “Five Big Macs, five large fries, a Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, and a side salad.”

“Ranch dressing okay?” The fast-food employee asks as Peter gives his father figure a look of pure confusion.

“Yeah, sure.”

“We’ll have your total for you at the first window.”

“Thanks,” Tony says, driving around the curve to the upcoming window.

Peter asks, “You got a salad? At McDonald’s?”

“No, I got it for you, you really think I’m gonna let you eat four Big Macs and no greens?”

“There’s lettuce on the burgers -”

“Nice try.”

“Jeez, ‘Helicopter Mom’, much?”

“You’ll thank me later when your stomach doesn’t hate you.” 

For once.

Peter rolls his eyes as his stomach continues acting like a bear, looking on as his hero gives the cashier his credit card.

Eh, it’s more food, I’ll take it.

The second the boy takes his first bite of that heavenly, artery-filling burger, it takes all of his strength not to guzzle it down in five bites or less. He’s unfortunately learned from experience that not eating much for a week and then consuming enough food in one sitting to feed his entire apartment building equates to seeing all of that food again in a not so appetizing manner.

So by the time they get to the tower, only one burger is consumed and about half of an order of fries, yet the spiderling’s stomach is still growling. They settle in at the kitchen counter, with Tony digging into his own burger and fries, making light chatter with Peter unashamedly talking with his mouth full.

That Friday night and Saturday morning are spent in bliss, in more ways than one. The two heroes did their usual thing in the lab, Tony helped his kid with some of his homework, kicked back on the couch, and the tyke’s stomach was never not satisfied.

If only he could feel this way all the time.

The older man actually made dinner that night and told Peter he can take home the leftovers for him and May.

The teen’s heart did what felt like an actual backflip. He gratefully accepted the leftovers with absolute no intentions on sharing it with his aunt, instead his mind going into “math-mode” on how he can ration this throughout the week.

And when Happy drops him off that Saturday afternoon, he’s filled with the most energy he’s had since the previous time with his mentor, damn near skipping to his room in excitement to put on his suit and soar through the skies.

Until he sees May in the kitchen sporting a look of grim disappointment, and his whole demeanor falls immediately.

What happened? I haven’t done anything lately…at least I don’t think I have.

Hold up, did somebody die?

“Um,” Peter starts, gripping the straps on his backpack and praying his aunt can’t smell the leftover pot roast, “May, is everything okay?”

The nurse sighs despairingly, doing nothing to help her nephew’s case, “No,” she taps the barstool next to her, swinging it out, “We need to talk.”

The teenager’s anxiety spikes instantly.

Must she say the most horrible phrase in the English language?

Peter carefully sets his backpack on the couch before walking over and sitting on the designated stool, “Uh…what is it?”

“This,” his aunt slides a piece of paper over to him, “Progress reports were released yesterday and I didn’t check the portal until this morning. Explain this to me.”

Wait, progress reports? School isn’t even an issue, what the hell?

He looks down at the report and studies his grades, most of which are “A’s”, other than a “B-plus” that ruins the streak.

Fuck English and those fucking essays.

And there, at the bottom of the report, is his grade in AP History.

A “D.”

A big, fat, ugly “D.”

“What the hell?” Peter whispers in shock. This isn’t possible, he thinks, he’s never gotten anything below a “B” in, well, anything. School has always been his strong suit.

While yes, there were a couple of history quizzes he did less than stellar on, but shit happens, it certainly wouldn’t cause his grade to jump to a fucking “D.”

“There has to be a mistake,” he exclaims, still staring at the report with wide eyes, “There’s no way -”

“Really? No way?” May counters, voice a mixture of both anger and disappointment. 

Making Peter want to crawl under a rock and die.

His aunt goes on, “Read the teacher’s comment.”

I don’t wanna.

The boy swallows a lump in his throat, reluctantly flipping over the page. He skims down until he sees the one for history and reads the comment.

Mr. Parker is no doubt a gifted student but he has difficulty with paying attention in class. While he does well on the homework, he lacks applying what he’s learned towards the tests and quizzes, both of which carry heavier percentages than the homework itself. I suggest taking more time to study, pay more attention in class, and, if possible, seek a tutor.

Peter scans over that comment who knows how many times.

Okay…maybe he’s done less than stellar on more than just a couple of quizzes.

How did he not see this, how in the fuck did he not know how bad his grade dropped?

The boy feels his stomach gurgle as it digests the last of his lunch that he had before he left to come back home.

Then it clicks.

Shit.

By the last class of the day, the food he’d eat at lunch has long since digested and his body is already begging for more.

So much so that he loses focus on the class and instead does what he can to keep himself sane until he can eat more food.

And the only reason why he’s able to do well on the homework is exactly that, he does it at home, where he’s hungry, but it’s bearable enough to where he can still concentrate.

At school, where he feels like his stomach might actually fall out of his body, leaves little room for concentration.

Peter looks back at his guardian with wide eyes, “I can explain.”

“Really? ‘Cuz I’m dying to hear it.” May lets out a light, humorless laugh, “I just, I just can’t believe we’re having a conversation about this. School was something I never had to worry about with you, what gives? Are you and Ned passing notes? Is there a girl you like that’s distracting you -”

“May, oh my God, I’m not ten,” her nephew says, annoyance in his tone, “And there’s no girl, for the record.”

“Then what is it, Peter?” May counters, getting annoyed herself, “Do you not understand the material, do you need a tutor -”

“No, no I don’t need a tutor. Look, I’m sorry, I’ll bring it up by the time report cards come -”

“You really think it’s that much of an easy fix?”

“Yes, look, May, it’s just a progress report, it doesn’t mean anything -”

“Oh, really now?” She asks, raising her voice slightly, “If they don’t mean anything, then why do they exist, huh? How would you feel if this was your report card? You’d lose your scholarship, Peter.”

Fuck, the fucking scholarship. 

The teenager puts his head in his hands, his heart feeling heavy at the thought of being forced to leave Midtown, “Pretty shitty, yeah. May, I’m sorry, I didn’t know it got this bad, I promise I’ll bring it up. There’s a test next week, I’ll make sure to study for it.”

“Oh, you certainly will, no question, because until I see this ‘D’ disappear,” May hesitates before she says, “No more Spider-Man.”

“No!” The fifteen-year-old exclaims, head snapping right to his guardian, “May, please, please don’t take Spider-Man away from me. He’s what keeps me sane, c’mon, please.”

“He’s why your grade dropped, isn’t it?” The nurse asks, her only redeeming factor is that she doesn’t seem to like punishing him any more than he does, “That’s it, you’re too excited to be Spider-Man that you can’t concentrate on the class -”

“No, that’s not it! -”

“Then what is? Peter, help me understand ‘cuz I don’t know what the hell this is.”

The words are on the tip of his tongue.

I don’t get enough to eat.

He could say it, right here right now, he could say it. He would get to eat, and he could still be Spider-Man.

But May would feel awful.

And he can’t stand to see her more upset than she already is.

“You’re right,” Peter forces out, mentally kicking himself, “Yeah, it’s Spider-Man,” he concludes brokenly.

“That settles it then,” May confirms, voice small and filled with remorse, “No Spider-Man until you get your report card. And in three weeks, if I see anything less than a ‘C-plus’, it’s gonna be a long while before you see that suit again, you understand?”

As much as he doesn’t want to, the boy slowly nods his head, “This is so not fair -”

“It’s not up for discussion. Dinner’ll be in a few hours,” his guardian says, getting out of her chair to start chopping vegetables.

Peter quickly gets out of his own chair and gets his things before dragging himself to his room, the last thing he wants to do is look at his aunt let alone talk to her.

He gets to his room and slams the door, dropping his things and plopping onto his bed face down. He smushes his face on his pillow and screams into it as loud as he can without alerting May before slumping in defeat. 

Words can’t express how mad he is at his guardian but it’s nowhere near how mad the kid is at himself. 

How stupid was he? How did he not notice how bad he’s doing in the class? How could he have let it get this far?

And now there’s no more Spider-Man to at least soften the blow.

As much as he knows he needs to study, he doesn’t, he’d rather just lay in his bed and wallow in self-pity for the next week or so.

That’s just what he does until May calls out that dinner is ready. Peter wants to rebel by skipping dinner but realistically, he’d pass out if he doesn’t eat, and he wants to save those leftovers for as long as he can.

Dinner is the epitome of awkward.  

Not much small talk is made as the kid eats his food as fast as humanly possible, afterward spending the rest of the night drowning out his thoughts through YouTube videos before succumbing himself to torture and digging out his history book.

No way is he letting the late 1800’s ruin his double life and his future.

-

The following week, he gets to work.

Unfortunately, his teacher doesn’t offer extra credit but he did say that if Peter continues doing well on the homework, studies hard for the upcoming quizzes and test, along with the paper due at the end of the month, the teen could have the potential to bring his grade up to a “B-minus”, maybe even a “B” if he aces them.

As long as his report card is above a “C-plus”, he doesn’t give a shit what it is.

The hero decides not to eat the extra food Ned gives him right at lunch and instead scarfs it down right before history. It doesn’t fill him up by any means but his stomach won’t sound like a thunderstorm either. Then when he gets home, he eats some of Tony’s leftovers, leaving his hunger manageable enough to make it to dinner.

It works for that week, to the teen’s pleasant surprise. Who knew that eating can make a person more focused and actually pay attention?

With this new routine, not only does the boy continue doing well on the homework but he damn near aces both of his next quizzes with a “B-plus” and “A-minus” respectively. The higher his grades get, the more confident he feels, he can almost taste the sweet freedom of swinging through the air and becoming one with the wonders of Queens.

Hell yes, Peter thinks, he’ll be back to donning the red and blue in no time.

-

However, that second week proves to be tougher than the first.

For one, Peter finished the leftovers; he didn’t want to, but he knew the food would eventually go bad if he kept it for much longer so he bit the bullet. Pair that with his dinner that night, it made him the most satisfied he'd felt since that waiter at the Thai restaurant gave May an extra plate of food for free.

God, why can’t that happen again?

He sticks to the same routine at school but when he gets home, he limits himself to a small snack to keep him satisfied until dinner.

But that has yet to work.

The teenager is having a hard time concentrating on his homework. The calculus that he normally breezes through is taking him twice as long to complete, same with physics, and he’s forced to put off history until after dinner, where his stomach doesn’t feel like it’s falling out and giving him enough energy to finish it with a passing grade.

Which is where Peter is finding himself now the night before that dreaded history test.

He huffs in frustration as he stares down at his dense brick of a history textbook, words blurring together as he reads over the same page for the fourth fucking time - and maybe the information might actually stay in his brain for once - and starving despite fixing himself a sandwich earlier.

Maybe his dinner should’ve had more sustenance than that but what the hell, he doesn’t know how to cook and May’s going to be at work until like midnight, he had to fix something.

Even though it’s only eight o’clock, the kid’s eyes are drooping with fatigue, resisting the urge to fall asleep on his book and thus making his chance of passing his test get slimmer and slimmer. 

That lousy sandwich didn’t do shit.

Peter lightly slaps his cheek to wake himself up and he continues reading through that same page…again.

Why can’t I learn history dates as good as math formulas, this shit’s exhausting.

He studies as much as he can, going from the textbook to his chicken-scratch notes and now graded past homework and quizzes. Yet the more he tries to memorize political figures, the more he focuses on the food that’s in each and every one of the kitchen cabinets.

As if reading his mind once again, his stomach gurgles with hunger.

Okay, I think I saw another apple in the fridge. I mean, it can’t hurt.

Oh my God, and there’s a bag of chips we haven’t opened yet, maybe May won’t notice if I eat a few…or the whole fucking bag.

Maybe she’ll forget she bought them, no harm, no foul.

The hero’s mouth starts salivating at that. He can’t keep torturing himself like this, he has to get something to eat. Just as he’s about to do so, he hears a scream from outside his window.

“No!”

Peter’s head jerks to the window behind him, eyebrows narrowing in curiosity. 

He’s normally pretty good at tuning out the murmurs that flood the mean streets of Queens…but that sounded close.

Too close.

Like right-outside-his-apartment-building close.

His worry grows when he hears another scream that sounds like it’s coming from the same person.

“Let go of me!”

Not just a person.

A kid.

Peter is out of his chair in less than a second. He opens his window and peeks out from the corner so he can’t be seen. After a few seconds of searching, his eyes land on a scuffle across the street between a middle-aged man with a black hoodie covered face and a little boy who can’t be older than eight or ten years old.

“You’re not my dad!” The boy cries, trying to get out of the man’s grasp.

“Shit,” Peter whispers, “Shit, shit, shit.”

The physiological need now forgotten, the hero races to his closet while he’s hurriedly taking off his clothes, putting on his suit in record time, and keeping a close ear on the scary situation at hand.

Okay, save the kid, come back, save the kid, come back…

He knows he’s breaking his aunt’s trust - which is saying something considering he kept this identity from her for almost a year - but he can’t just sit here and study shit that’s already happened while a child is being kidnapped.

The boy hears the usual greetings from Karen after putting on the mask, looking out the window once more before sneaking out of it, climbing the last few stories so he can scope the situation from the rooftop. He hears the little boy yell out again, “Let go of me!” but the kidnapper keeps dragging him along, mumbling some shit that Peter doesn’t find relevant to comprehend.

The teen swings to the next building, following the kidnapper and the poor little kid. He tells his AI, “Karen, activate web grenades.”

“Web grenades activated,” she responds, her usual robotic manner sounding out of place given the circumstances.

The spiderling swings to a building ahead of the criminal and waits patiently from the rooftop, web shooter aimed at the guy.

Keep walking, keep walking…aaaaand YEET.

He presses the button and a whole net of web fluid goes flying, trapping the kidnapper and hitting him against the wall of a closed bank. Unfortunately, the kid’s left hand got caught up in it and stuck around the web as well.

And he starts wailing.

Peter webs his way over in seconds, ignoring any bullshit the criminal is shouting, and lands in front of the boy.

He starts speaking words of reassurances, keeping his voice as soft and non-threatening as possible, “Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay, I gotcha, you’re okay.” The teen whispers to his AI, “Karen, call the police.”

“Already in pursuit, Peter.”

“Thanks.” Peter uses his super strength to tear the boy’s hand free, applying a small amount of web fluid to keep the net intact. He kneels in front of the kid and asks, keeping his voice light, “Hey, I’m Spider-Man. Are you okay, did he hurt you?”

The boy sniffles, wiping away a few tears with his sleeve. He holds out his left hand as he says shakily, “Just m-my-my, my hand…he was, he was holding it too tight.”

The teenager sighs in relief, thanking God that nothing worse happened. He ignores his stomach’s occasional growls as he asks, “I’m sorry he hurt your hand, buddy. Do you know where your parents are?”

The boy hastily shakes his head, eyes widening in fear, “My-My mom, we were walking and-and there were all these people and, and I-I let go of Mommy’s hand but I didn’t mean to!” His panic increases the more he talks, “Someone, someone uh, someone bumped into me, it was an accident -”

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s not your fault, these things happen sometimes. So you got separated from your mom and that’s how you got lost?”

The little boy nods his head, wiping the last of his tears from his eyes, “And, and then, and then he,” he points to his attempted kidnapper, “Grabbed my hand and wanted to take me away.”

“He’s lying,” the offender says from the other side of the web net. Without even looking at the guy, Peter shoots a web at his face, successfully shutting him up.

The hero hears sirens in the distance and smiles from behind the mask, “The police are coming soon and they’re gonna help you find your mom, okay? Can you tell me your name?”

“J-Josh.” 

“Well, Josh,” the teen holds out his fist as a police car turns the corner, “It was very nice to meet you.”

“Thanks, Spider-Man,” Josh smiles as he gives his hero a soft fist bump, biting his lip as he asks, “Can you stay until I find my mom?”

Another stomach growl escapes the spiderling but again, he pushes it down, “Of course, buddy.” 

Law enforcement finally arrives and a female officer approaches the boy, taking his hand as the young genius stands up. His anxiety starts to rise as he starts to feel unexpectedly dizzy and he’s forced to put a hand on the wall to steady him.

Karen says into his ear, “Glucose levels decreasing rapidly, I suggest you seek appropriate nutrition or I can contact Mr. Stark -”

“No,” Peter commands, “Look, I’ll eat something after we find his mom, okay, just don’t tell Mr. Stark -”

“Are you talking to yourself?” Josh asks, turning around to look at the hero in confusion.

“Uh, just, um,” the other boy stutters, spinning around and again, having to use the wall to steady him, “Uh, Bluetooth.”

The little kid raises an eyebrow but simply shrugs and continues walking away, still holding the officer’s hand.

Peter uses his super strength to free the criminal and his mouth only for the guy to be arrested by two other officers. As they’re walking to a second police cruiser, the kid finds himself having to take short breaths and are his eyes deceiving him or is everything going suddenly blurry?

I thought my powers fixed my eyesight.

Karen again whispers in her owner’s ear, “Glucose levels are drastically low. Willing to contact Mr. Stark -”

“Please, Karen, no,” the spider-boy sharply whispers back, “I literally live here, I’ll eat something when I get back.”

“My concern isn’t when you’ll eat, but for if you can make it back at all. I have no choice -”

“Yes you do, don’t call him.” 

Peter walks over to Josh, seeing his kidnapper being handcuffed and put in a car from the corner of his eye, albeit a blurry one, and says, “How you doing, little buddy?”

“Great! They found my mom, she called the police after I got lost and they’re bringing her here.”

Thank fuck.

“That’s great,” the hero says with as much energy as he can pull together, “I have to go now so you be safe, okay?”

“I’m never letting go of Mommy’s hand ever again.”

God, they’re so innocent.

“That’s good, good lesson,” Peter takes a couple more deep breaths as he stands up, ignoring the lightheadedness swirling in his brain, and with a friendly, “Have a good night”, he swings as fast as he can to his apartment.

Food, food, food, food, food…

The teenager sluggishly climbs back through his window and takes off his mask, swaying on his feet as his fingers start to shake. He starts to head over to the kitchen but grips onto the ladder of his bunk bed to let his vision catch up to him.

But then he looks at his bed.

His wonderful, heavenly, comfortable bed.

God, he’s so tired.

No, I gotta eat something.

However, he inches closer and closer to his bed, his world literally swirling around him in such a way that he’s amazed he can still stand up.

Maybe a little nap wouldn’t hurt.

He’ll just eat something when he wakes up.

No harm, no foul.

Peter then gets into position and starts to belly flop onto his bed.

I’ll just take a nap riiiiiiiight here -

He is out cold before his head even hits the pillow.

-

“Boss, Mr. Parker is in distress.”

Tony’s head snaps up from the TV, gaze going to the ceiling, “What happened? He’s not supposed to be Spider-Manning.”

“Sending Karen’s information to your phone now.”

The man’s phone vibrates on the end table barely a second later. He hurriedly grabs it, reading what’s on the screen.

“Peter Parker’s glucose levels are devastatingly low. His vitals indicate that he is suffering from malnutrition and needs to seek medical attention immediately -”

“FRIDAY, call a suit,” Tony exclaims as he’s getting off of the couch, waiting to hear the rest while on his way to his kid.

“Yes, boss.”

“Kid, what the fuck are you doing?” Tony mumbles as he’s racing to the lab. In no time but it feels like too much time, he punches in his code and walks into the room, instantly getting into his suit, “FRIDAY, read me the rest of what Karen sent, put Peter’s vitals up on the screen.”

“Yes, boss, tracking his location now.”

The hero is out and flying to the location on the GPS only to see that the destination is at…the Parkers’ apartment.

The kid isn’t out.

And Tony has no idea if that’s a good thing or not.

Now knowing where he’s going, he turns off the GPS, trying not to let any panic set in at the boy’s ever slowly decreasing levels.

Or at the open window leading into the kid’s bedroom.

The billionaire stops right outside the window, carefully slipping inside and lifting up his faceplate.

He sees the tyke out cold on the bottom bunk of his bed, his left hand gripping his mask and a small puddle of drool next to his mouth. Tony would’ve thought this was adorable if he wasn’t so worried.

The older man kneels next to his kid and gives him a slight nudge, “C’mon, Pete, it’s time to wake up.” He nudges him a little more.

And a little more.

Tony gets more desperate as his anxiety skyrockets, “Peter, this isn’t funny, c’mon, wake up, we gotta get your idiotic ass fed yesterday.”

But Peter makes no notion of any plans to get up. The only way his mentor knows he’s still alive is by his vitals FRIDAY is whispering to him and the boy’s back rising and falling to the tune of his breathing.

“Kid, you’re really about to make me fucking do this,” Tony says with a sigh, grabbing the teen’s mask and putting if over his head to hide his identity, “FRIDAY, alert medbay, tell ‘em we’re on our way.”

“Roger that, boss.”

The mechanic slips his nameplate back over his face as he picks up his kid, positioning him like a toddler and sitting him on his arm, cupping the boy’s head to keep it close to his neck, “Might need two beds if I get a fucking panic attack over this,” he mumbles.

“Roger that, boss,” FRIDAY responds, not noticing the sarcasm.

“I didn’t mean - whatever,” Tony turns on his repulsors so he’s now hovering over the floor and with one leg at a time, he oh so gently flies out the window, not even bothering to close it as his suit takes off at full speed, determined to get this kid some help before…

He refuses to think about the rest of that sentence.

The entire flight back to the tower, Tony keeps a tight grip on his kid, damn near smushing Peter’s head against his neck. The man says occasional words of reassurance even though he knows no one is listening, “You’re gonna be okay, kiddo, you understand me? You have to be okay so I can whoop your ass later.”

Honestly, he’s not sure if he's saying this more to the kid or to himself.

He has superpowers, of course everything’s gonna be okay.

Because I said so, damn it.

-

Peter comes to, finding himself in a hospital gown on an equally uncomfortable bed, a bunch of wires attached to his left hand and a remote on the table to his right, assuming to adjust the bed and TV.

“What?” He mutters, taking in his surroundings. The room is a standard size with a marker board stating the healthcare professionals’ names, a portable cart containing whatever necessities the patient and doctor might need, along with an attached bathroom and window with a view of New York City.

What the fuck am I doing here?

He shifts on his bed in an effort to sit up but he accidentally hits something with his right leg.

The spider-boy tilts his head in confusion only to gasp at the sight of his father figure sitting in a chair next to him, fast asleep with his head on his kid’s bed, resting it on his crossed arms.

Peter can’t help but smile at the sight of Iron Man snoring but that doesn’t answer his question. He looks back down at the wires on his hand and follows them up to an IV bag with the label “glucose.”

Wait, glucose?

Everything hits the hero like a sack of potatoes as his mind takes him back to the last thing he remembers: the hunger, the little boy, Karen constantly telling him about his levels…

Deciding to take a nap.

And he wakes up here.

“Shit…shit, shit, shit, shit.”

The teenager jumps as he hears random beeps on some machine to his right. He feels his heart racing with panic and his legs start restlessly jerking from underneath his thin blankets, thus accidentally waking up his mentor.

Tony’s head snaps up when he feels his arms being nudged for about the fifth damn time. After blinking out of his stupor, he puts his focus on his frightened kid, “Peter, hey, hey,” he grabs hold of the tyke’s right hand and gives it a heartfelt squeeze, “Kid, it’s okay, you’re okay, you’re safe now -” he cuts himself off at noticing his words aren’t doing shit and his other hand goes the young genius’s shoulder, “Peter.”

The child stops abruptly, looking right at his hero. Said man gives him a reassuring smile and comfortingly rubs his shoulder to calm him, “You’re okay, buddy, take a breather.”

“Wha-what happened?” Peter asks between deep breaths, doing as his father figure says and trying to settle down, “Is May okay -”

“She’s fine,” Tony confirms, releasing his protege’s shoulder. He can feel the kid’s iron-grip in his hand and makes no move to let go, “She was here earlier but I made her go home for a bit and rest up. I’d rather there’d be one adult with a sore back than two.”

“Wait, how long was I out?”

“Well, considering it’s now,” the billionaire takes a brief look at his watch, “One PM, about fifteen hours, give or take. You had one hell of a nap, if I do say so myself.”

“That sounds like an amazing nap, I wish I savored it,” the teen replies, “But what happened?”

“Why don’t you tell me?” Tony responds, face looking upset, “Why don’t you tell me why your levels were so low that I had to come get you in my damn suit and bring you back here?”

Peter sighs in frustration, “Glucose levels -”

“That’s right. When’s the last time you ate?”

“Um,” the spiderling starts, trying to be as vague as possible, “Dinner.”

Tony raises a confused eyebrow, “How much did you eat at dinner?”

“The normal amount,” Peter answers with a shrug.

Please don’t see through my bullshit.

“And you didn’t eat anything later on? You always have to eat something before bed.” 

“I, uh,” the boy lets go of their grip, feeling his hand start to tremble uncontrollably. He brings it to his lap and puts it with his other hand under the covers, “Forgot.”

“You forgot to eat,” Tony says, face the epitome of unamused, “How do you forget to eat, your stomach practically screams at ya.”

“I just-I just did, okay, I’m sorry -”

“Oh really, you’re sorry? This ‘forgetfulness’ put you in the damn hospital, ‘sorry’ isn’t gonna cut it. I want you to tell me right now what the hell happened. Why did you let it get this bad?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Peter retorts, getting pissed at the man’s tone, “I didn’t want to end up like this, I thought I had it handled -”

“What handled, Peter?” At hearing no answer, the billionaire continues, “I already know about you Spider-Manning when you’re not supposed to -”

“It was one time! I couldn’t just let a kid get kidnapped cuz Spider-Man got grounded.”

Tony’s eyes soften at that, “Was that what happened last night?”

“Yeah, I heard it right outside the apartment building.” The teen’s voice lowers, “I was studying and I was about to get something to eat when I heard the kid scream, I-I couldn’t just let that happen. I was just gonna save the kid and come right back, I didn’t know it got that bad.”

“How hungry were you?”

“What?”

“How hungry were you?” The mechanic asks, repeating the question, “‘Cuz if you were just hungry, your levels wouldn’t’ve gotten that low. Kid, you were way past starving.”

The kid looks down in shame, feeling his cheeks heat up and he can only imagine how red they must look.

Tony then asks, trying to keep his tone as gentle as he can, “What is it that you’re so afraid to tell me, Peter?”

Peter looks up at him with sad eyes, biting his lip. 

Fuck, he’s seeing through my bullshit.

Seeing no chance at a loophole, he knows he has to bite the bullet…but how does he go about telling billionaire Tony Stark that he’s not eating because his aunt can’t afford more food?

Said man asks, keeping his same tone, “Why are you not eating?”

“I am eating -”

“But clearly not enough, why? When you’re with me, you eat ‘til the cows come home - oh shit,” Tony cuts himself off, covering his mouth as his eyes widen in fear.

Peter’s eyes narrow in utmost confusion, “What, what is it?”

“You’re not eating as much as you should,” the older genius mumbles, trying to piece all this together, “And you pig out when you’re here.” He turns to his kid, sporting a scared expression, “Do you throw it all up later?”

That makes the other’s skin prickle into goosebumps, his own eyes bugging out, “What?!”

“It all makes sense now,” Tony states, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms in concentration, “You eat like a horse when you’re with me, but I just brought you here because you’re not eating enough at your place. You already threw it up when you saved that kid, didn’t you -”

“Oh my God!” Peter shouts, the insinuation sinking in, “You think I have an eating disorder?”

“What the hell else is it, Peter? No wonder you were scared to tell me -”

“No, Mr. Stark, it’s not that, I promise it’s not that.” The kid swallows a lump in his throat as he briefly purses his lips, finally giving in, “You don’t understand.”

“Try me -”

“I’m serious, you won’t.” Peter props his elbows on his knees above the covers, putting his head in his hands, “And I don’t expect you to understand.”

Tony leans forward, crossing his arms next to Peter’s outer thigh, his face unreadable, “Then make me understand,” he says slowly.

After a long deep sigh, the boy finally spits it out, head still in his hands, “I don’t get enough to eat.”

“What?”

Peter lifts his head up, resting his hands in his lap, “I don’t get enough to eat. At home, I mean.”

“May doesn’t feed you enough -”

“No, she does, it’s not May’s fault. She feeds me enough food…for if I didn’t have powers.”

It takes a few seconds but the hypothetical lightbulb goes off over the man’s head, “May doesn’t know you have to eat more.”

The spider-boy silently nods his head. 

Tony asks, “Why didn’t you tell her?”

The tyke’s shoulders slump with dread. The guy who can buy fucking Google is about to hear his stupid working-class money troubles.

He then says, eyes looking everywhere but at his mentor, “‘Cuz she can’t afford it.”

“Wait, what?”

“She can’t afford it. I don’t know how she manages to buy enough for if I was just a normal human being, with all the bills and her loans and everything. She can’t buy more food for me, Mr. Stark. I’d love to get a job and help her out but I’m only fifteen -”

“Stop, stop right there,” Tony cuts him off, looking even more confused than he was earlier, “That’s what this is about? You don’t want her to buy more food?”

Peter looks up at the older man, looking offended, “It’s not that, I’d love for her to buy more food but she can’t. I’ve seen the bills when she thinks I’m not looking, or her student loans she’s behind on. God, if it wasn’t for my scholarship I wouldn’t even be going to Midtown ‘cuz we can’t afford it.” His voice lowers as humiliation sets in, “Which is why I have to get my history grade up.” His eyes grow to the size of his head, “Oh my God, my test is today -”

“Don’t worry about it, I called the school this morning, you can make it up next week.”

“Next week? But it’s Thursday -”

“Yeah, you’re gonna need more than one day to recuperate after all of this,” Tony says, slightly annoyed, “Why didn’t you tell me you guys are having money issues, I can help you out -”

Peter cuts him off with a humorless laugh, “You really think that’s gonna solve everything?”

“If it means to get you to eat more, it absolutely will,” the billionaire responds, raising his voice in offense.

“I knew you wouldn’t get it -”

“Then make me get it, for God’s sakes, you need money and I can give it to you -”

“We’re not a charity case, don’t you understand?” The child exclaims, “We’re doing fine, we don’t need help -”

“Doesn’t look like it from where I’m standing -”

“But we are!” Peter sighs deeply in frustration, “You’re not the first person to offer us money, okay? You don’t know how it feels.”

“How what feels?”

“For someone to try and help you out by giving you money. It sounds great on paper but you’ve never had someone give you this-this ‘look’ of pity that makes you feel this big,” Peter shapes his thumb and index finger into the shape of a “C”, with both fingertips almost touching, “All because you’re not making that much money. I just, I don’t wanna put Aunt May through that again. She’s proud of what she does, she loves what she does, she loves helping people. I don’t want anyone belittling her again.”

That makes Tony pause.

While yes, no shit he knows the vast majority of people don’t have his kind of money but most of the people in his life over the years only hung out with him because of his money. He’s never thought about the opposite end of that coin, how someone is proud of making a living, especially being in a profession that they love.

And that as long as they can provide for them and their family, they don’t need to be a billionaire to be happy.

“You really love May, don’t you?” Tony finally asks, a proud smile spreading across his face.

“More than anything,” his protege says with a nod of his head, “So please don’t tell her -”

“You know I can’t do that -”

“Please -”

“No, Pete, while your intentions are good, I can’t let you keep starving yourself like this. Who knows what would’ve happened if you weren’t in your suit, if I didn’t get that notification from Karen.” The older hero grabs hold of his mentee’s hand again, “Hey look at me.”

Peter reluctantly looks up at his father figure, his shame slowly but surely ebbing away.

Tony gently his thumb over the tyke’s knuckles, giving him a reassuring smile, “You deserve to eat. We’re gonna tell May and we’re gonna figure this out, okay?”

An unexpected third voice erupts from the doorway, “Tell May what?”

Both heroes’ heads snap to the front to see the woman herself walk in, closing the door behind her. She immediately rushes to the other side of her kid, giving him a hug, “How you doing, sweetie, you gave us quite a scare there.”

Peter hugs her back letting go of Tony’s hand, “I’m better now, thanks to Mr. Stark.”

“It’s nothing, bud,” the mechanic says, comfortingly rubbing the tyke’s knee, “I’m just glad I can help.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Tony,” May says when they separate, sitting down in her own chair opposite the older man, “I know I said that like a million times, but really, I owe you one -”

“You don’t owe me a thing, not where the kid is concerned.” Tony turns to his intern, “But you actually came at the perfect time ‘cuz Pete here has something he’s gotta tell you.”

“Oh?” May turns to her nephew, grabbing hold of his left hand, being mindful of the wires connected to him, “Is it about what happened, I’ve been dying to know.”

“Yeah,” Peter replies, defeatedly, “I’m sorry I went out as Spider-Man but I had a good reason.”

“We’ll talk about that later, I’m just glad you’re okay. What happened, sweetie, you’ve been eating just like you always have, what was the problem?”

“That’s the thing, May,” the boy starts, scratching the back of his neck, “There’s something I didn’t tell you about me after I got my powers.” He doesn’t wait for her response, “I have to eat more than I used to to keep up with them. I have I guess what you call an ‘enhanced metabolism’, meaning I have to eat more than everyone else.”

The nurse’s eyes squint in confusion before her eyebrows raise as everything sets in, “Oh my God,” she says, leaning back in her chair and hand covering her face, not unlike what Tony did earlier, “So all this time you were starving yourself?”

“Well -”

“Why, Peter?! Why the hell would you do that?”

“‘Cuz I know you wouldn’t be able to afford it, okay?” Peter cries, “I didn’t want you to struggle any more than you already do -”

“Stop,” May cuts him off with another hug, her eyes glistening with unshed tears behind her glasses, “Stop, baby, stop.” She lets go and looks right in his eyes, “Don’t ever pull that shit with me again, you understand?” 

Peter nods his head, letting a small grin escape him at hearing a muffled snicker from Tony, “I promise. Um,” he takes a deep breath as his aunt settles back into her chair, “It’s also why my history grade is as bad as it is.”

“What?” Both adults ask at the same time.

“Uh,” the teen starts, fidgeting with his top blanket, “So the free lunch I get at school doesn’t fill me up obviously and Ned sometimes brings extra food and that helps…for a while.”

“I know where this is going,” he hears Tony mumble.

“Yeah, and history is my last class of the day so by the time that comes around, I’m really, really hungry so I have a hard time concentrating. In my defense though, it’s boring as shit.”

Both adults can’t help but giggle, “Yeah, history wasn’t my strong suit either,” Tony says, coming to his kid’s defense.

“Peter, this is why you need to tell me things,” May says, “You still understand why I punished you, though -”

“Yeah, even though I hated it. Is Spider-Man ungrounded now?”

“You get rested up and eat for once and we’ll talk.”

“Deal,” the kid confirms with a grunt.

As if on cue, his stomach releases an ever so slight gurgle. As much as the IV bag has helped, he needs actual food sustenance.

Tony says, pressing the button to call a nurse, “And on that note, let’s get you patched up and we’ll order in, how ‘bout that?”

May cuts in, “And you can have allll the orange chicken your tummy desires.”

Peter gives them both a timid smile, wincing as another growl rolls in his abdomen, “That sounds amazing.”

-

“Mr. Stark, I’m a failure.”

“Kid, you know you’re not, it’s just a few dates and inventions.”

“You make the Industrial Revolution sound like it’s the easiest thing in the world.”

It is now the following week, the day before Peter’s makeup history test, and the father-son duo are in the lab after school. Instead of actually working on anything, Tony is helping his kid study.

If only he can get Peter to put the material in that hard head of his.

“You get into that mindset, and it will be the easiest thing in the world, bud.”

“Easy for you to say,” Peter whines, “Your scholarship’s not riding on this.”

Aw, how cute that he thinks I won’t help him out.

“Forget about the scholarship, you’re already stressed as it is. Focus on the triple cheeseburger you’re gonna get after this thing is finally over.”

“The two triple cheeseburgers,” the kid shyly elaborates.

Ever since the tyke dropped that bombshell about him freaking starving himself, things have changed. For one, May - refusing Tony’s help - is buying more groceries and always makes sure her kid gets a lunch in addition to the free one that’s available. Whenever Peter stays with his father figure, things stay the same except now when Tony makes dinner, he purposely makes more for leftovers.

And now, the man is about to present his kid with another way to help him out.

“Pete, I think your brain might actually explode, let’s take a break for a sec, huh?”

After releasing a long, dramatic sigh, Peter drops his pencil, “Y’know what? Fuck history.” 

Tony can’t help but bust out laughing, “Kid, you know why you have to learn it, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it’s not like I’m gonna be a historian or anything.” The teen gets up and walks over to where his father figure is standing, “Whatcha wanna work on?”

“Actually, I want you to do this for me first.” The billionaire takes a folded piece of paper out of his jeans pocket and unravels it, holding it out to his protege, “I want you to sign right here, and initial here.” He points to the designated areas where a signature is required as the teen takes the document, reading what it says in confusion before his eyes widen in shock.

“You’re…you wanna make my internship a paid internship?” Peter asks, not believing what he’s seeing, “And May already signed it?”

“Yup, you’re not eighteen so I needed May’s approval. So,” Tony casually leans against the table, holding out a pen for the kid, “What d’ya say?”

“I-I,” the teen stutters, his gaze not leaving the sheet of paper, “But like it’s not actually an internship, that’s just a front -”

“Really? You think all the stuff you do around here is just a front?” The older genius asks with a cheeky smile, “Making up web fluid and all the repairs you help me do, I should’ve done this a long time ago if I’m being honest.”

Peter looks long and hard at the writing in front of him, occasionally glancing back and forth at both that and the man who put it together.

He’s not stupid, the kid knows why his mentor is bringing this to his attention.

And he’s grateful.

Tony could’ve tried offering money again, making him feel like a loser even though he didn’t mean it in that way.

But no, Iron Man is offering him a job, a job where he can continue doing what he loves while he helps out his aunt in the process.

He can feel accomplished…proud even.

A smile breaks out across the teen’s face as he takes everything in, thinking about what he can do with the money he’s going to make in addition to helping May: saving up for college, a car, and ooh that Nintendo Switch he’s been dying to have -”

His thoughts are interrupted by Tony clearing his throat, snapping him back to reality, “My arm’s getting tired here, kiddo, you in or not?” The man asks.

Peter takes the pen and lays the sheet on the table, signing on the dotted lines before giving it back to him, “Um, th-thank you, thank you, Mr. Stark, you’re amazing.” He concludes with giving him a hug, wrapping his arms around his hero’s torso thus making the older man gasp in surprise.

“Well, I already knew that,” Tony says jokingly, giving the tyke a light ruffle of his hair, “But it sounds so much better when you say it. You’re the amazing one, don’t doubt that.”

“Tell that to my history book.”

“Speaking of,” the mechanic starts with a snicker, “The Second Industrial Revolution -”

Peter cuts him off with a groan, defeatedly resting his head on the other’s chest, “You said I could take a break -”

“Yeah, for a sec.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“But you ‘needa’, c’mon, back to studying.” Tony lifts his mentee’s head and lightly pushes him back to the direction of his textbook, “So, who invented the telephone?”

“Uh, ‘Mr. Telephone’? He probably used his last name when he invented it.”

Tony lets out about the deepest sigh he’s ever expressed, “So this is how my hair goes gray.”

-

The following week, it is an ordinary day at the Parkers’ residence. May is preparing dinner while her nephew - who is still feeling satisfied from his after-school snack - is at the counter working on homework, trying not to stare so much at his history test that his aunt stuck to the refrigerator with a magnet.

But damn, he’ll never get tired of seeing that shiny red “B-plus.”

There is a sudden knock at the door, making both Parkers tense up since they’re not expecting anybody.

May opens the door with her kid standing off to the side. On the other side stands a middle-aged man holding a clipboard with about half a dozen bags on the ground around him.

Are Peter’s eyes mistaken or do those bags look like the reusable ones grocery stores sell?

“Ms. Parker?” The man asks, voice neutral but friendly.

“Uh, yes?” May reluctantly responds, looking the epitome of confused.

“I got your groceries here for ya.”

“What, um I didn’t order anything, Peter, did you?” The nurse turns to her kid who responds with a simple shake of his head, his expression matching his aunt’s.

The man’s eyes squint at the small clipboard he’s holding, “Isn’t this your address, ma’am?” He holds the clipboard out to the older Parker and she studies the sheet for a couple of seconds, eyes looking more and more baffled.

“Uh…yeah, yeah that’s us but-but I don’t understand -”

“No need to explain, I’m just the messenger. If you would just sign right here, saying you received your items -”

“Sir, with all due respect, I’m not paying for something I didn’t order.”

“Don’t worry about it, that’s all taken care of. All I need from you is your signature.”

“Uh,” May stutters, shoulders slumping in defeat, “Okay, sure.” She signs the paper and gives it back to him.

“Do you need assistance with the groceries today?”

“No, we got it from here, uh, thank you, thank you very much.”

“Alright, have a good day,” the delivery man then leaves them be. They pick up the grocery bags and bring them inside, quickly going through them as if it’s Christmas.

They gawk at the food items in front of them: steak, salmon, lobster, there’s even veal and duck amongst a pile of vegetables, some of which they’ve never even seen before.

“Where did all of this come from?” Peter asks, amazed at all that “Santa Claus” has graced them with.

“Wait, there’s a note.” May reaches the bottom of one of the bags and pulls out a mini note card that could mimic one that goes in a flower arrangement. She then reads aloud the brief message.

This is what you get for refusing help. Expect groceries every Monday and Thursday for the next, well, ever. 

Signed, “You Know Who I Am” -

“Mr. Stark,” Peter finishes with a disbelieving grin, “Of course he did this.”

May can’t help but laugh, not believing this herself as she gets out her phone, “I’m giving this man a piece of my mind.”

Her nephew giggles in response, already getting out his own phone and sending his father figure a text.

Thanks for the groceries but you reeeeeally didn’t have to do that

Tony responds not even a minute later.

I know 😉

Now for God’s sakes EAT!!

[docmary]

Food Insecurity-We may not live by bread alone, but neither do we live without it.

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough to those who have little.  Franklin D. Roosevelt

It has been my good fortune to have been able to support myself (barely at times) doing the work that I love, being a naturopathic doctor, for most of my adult life. I remember a sign in my tax preparers office that read: “The joys of owning your own business, not unlike the joys of natural childbirth, have been greatly exaggerated.” Or something like that. There are certainly those in my profession that have been financially successful along with the intrinsic rewards of helping people, but I was not one of them.

And then I got cancer. And not dying became my full-time job. On the side I also worked as a home health aide and I made little money but also had little in the way of responsibility. I also relied on programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps to survive.

I am doing well now. I have relocated from Alaska (my home of 30 years) to Washington state where I grew up, so that I could be closer to family. I was fortunate in that I had family to take me in while I figured out my next moves. Some are not so lucky.

I started volunteering at the Sky Valley Food Bank in my new community as a way to build my social network. I was blessed with the instant camaraderie of many fellow and sister volunteers, and paid staff, who were joined in a single purpose: support the mission of eliminating hunger. Every week we provided food for an average of 261 families, enough for 10 meals per person. This amounts to more than 75,000 pounds of food distributed every month—almost one million pounds per year.

And Then Came COVID-19

According to data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), some 13.7 million households (10.5% of all households), experienced food insecurity at some point in 2019. That is 35 million Americans who were either unable to acquire enough food to meet their needs, or uncertain of where their next meal might come from.

In one study that came out in June 2020, researchers asked: “In the last seven days, which of these statements best describes the food eaten in your household?”

 Enough of the food we wanted to eat

 Enough, but not always the kind of food we wanted to eat

 Sometimes not enough to eat

 Often not enough to eat.

According to these researchers, since 2019, food insecurity has doubled overall and tripled in households with children.*

The Ripple Effects of Hunger

Not having access to healthy food has ripple effects of chronic ill health, disability, stress, and worsening poverty. These problems did not start with COVID-19, but the pandemic has made even more glaring the differences in the quality of life between “those who have much [and] those who have little.” This kind of safety net, that supplies sustenance to those in need, makes good economic sense. Adults who have a disability, in particular a disability and are not in the workforce, also experience more than twice the rate of food insecurity as adults who do not have a disability.

At our local food bank, we were unable to have our customers shop in-doors like we had in the past safely. We were shut down but found a way to deliver boxes of food to the porches of 125 families in the area. We also drastically cut down on the number of volunteers that could be in our warehouse per day which translates to fewer people doing more physically demanding work. The good news is that people from the community, from gardeners, to private businesses, to social service organizations, and individuals found ways to help Sky Valley Food Bank carry out the mission.**

School Closures and Vulnerable Students

With schools being shut down, students were no longer able to receive meals at their schools at a reduced price or free as they had in the past. This was not just a local problem, across the country nutrition directors reported that they were serving fewer meals than when school was in session. Last spring, the School Nutrition Association surveyed 2000 districts that reported 80% were serving fewer meals. Of those, the majority said the number of meals had dropped by 50% or more.

Most areas relied on the food pick up model that they usually did in the summer months where families could drop by their local school each day, often between 11-1, and pick up a bag lunch and maybe breakfast. But as parents started returning to work, the pickup model did not always work if parents were not always able to take children to the drop off site at the right time.

In Fulton County Georgia and Tucson Arizona, nutrition programs started packing food including frozen hamburgers and pizza, enough for a week’s worth of meals, and sending them out on school buses to be distributed at bus stops where the lowest income families typically resided.***

Food Deserts

In the best of times getting adequate nutrition is especially challenging for people who live in a “food desert.” The definition of a food desert can change depending on where you live. In urban areas, you need to live more than a mile away from a grocery store. For rural areas, you live more then 10 miles away. According to Feeding America, rural areas make up 63% of counties in the US and 87% of counties with high rates of food insecurity. In 2015, 19 million people lived in a food desert and 2.1 million households both lived in a food desert and lacked access to a vehicle according to the USDA.

The Shifting Model of Getting Food to the Food Insecure

In the summertime at Sky Valley Food Bank, we were able to greet our long-time customers, and many new ones, that were able to shop in our outdoor market. I loved being able to chat with our customers and find out how they were getting along. From my own experience, I can say that accepting help for something as necessary as feeding myself was a blow to my ego. Thank goodness I got over that. Being able to help my fellow and sister humans, regardless of why they were our customers is something I treasure.

Like many school districts around the country, our schools were not able to open in September. We partnered with our public schools to set up food pantries in five of our schools. We also had the return of rainy weather and the outdoor market was not an option. We began having a drive through service where our staff would build boxes of food for distribution in people’s cars. We were now serving 325 families and had special “Holiday” boxes in November and December, along with the usual boxes of meat, dairy, dry goods, canned goods, grains, produce, and food for their four-legged household members. Getting two boxes is better than one box, especially during the holidays.

In December we also had a toy drive that garnered an incredible assortment of toys from community members. It is remarkable how much our community does to provide for people having a tough time—food, toys, money—all gratefully accepted. The parents were able to pick out toys for their kids. 

We are looking forward to having our customers back in our service area to carefully select the foods they want for themselves and their loved ones. We are looking forward to giving them the kind of respectful service we always have and continue to provide. COVID or no COVID.

LONE WOLF

I am a lone wolf.

I have lost my pack.

My sire was the first to go. The alfa.

His job to protect the pack, especially from each other, fell to no one.

I grew up with the bitch who was two years my elder.

Always the more adventurous one. She was gone

Before her pups were fully grown.

And they are lost to me.

 The she-wolf who bore me tried desperately to keep the pack together.

“Come home. Why don’t you move back home?”

She grew old, frail, a little crazy

A kind of crazy that was always there but kept in check by the alpha.

 The older bitch is gone too.

When did the word bitch become derogatory?

I reclaim that title. It suits me.

It suits those of us who live in a world where self sufficiency is prized above all

And sentimentality is a luxury.

 Another sire gone. Was it really eight years ago?

He left to be with Jesus.

I think he’s food for flora and fauna.

Who’s to say?

 My brother looks up from the hard work of dying

All traces of silliness and the infectious laughter that is his calling card are gone

And the world is just a bit more lonely.

 The rest of the pack is dispersed.

Do they prowl in search of the familiar?

Of course they do. (howl)

*IPR.northwester.edu/documents/reports/ipr-rapid-research-reports-pulse-hh-data-10-june-2020.pdf

**Helpful Hint: when  thinking of donating food to the food bank, treat the task of going through your pantry the same way you go through your closet—three piles; keep, donate, throw away. You don’t donate clothes that are ripped or stained. You throw them away. The food bank volunteers spend a lot of time sorting through donations. We cannot serve food that is spoiled or way, way, way past the pull date, or that has been opened. Thanks.

***NPR.org/2020/09/08/908442609/children-are-going-hungry-why-schools-are-struggling-to-feed-students

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Work From Home Is Here to Stay (The Atlantic) “Are you still working, doo-doo?” This is the interruption that the Stanford University economist Nick Bloom hears several times a day as his 4-year-old daughter runs into his office and summons him to play by using his nickname. But the blurring of work and home lives might not be just a temporary side effect of the pandemic. Many Americans were already couch laborers before this all started. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, about 29 percent of college graduates worked from home at least some of the time. Even once coronavirus restrictions are eased, Bloom and others expect the proportion of Americans working from home to grow. “I could see it being totally standard for jobs that can be performed at home to allow two days at home” per week, he told me. Companies have been reluctant to allow employees to work from home because of inertia and entrenched norms, says Julia Pollak, the labor economist at ZipRecruiter. But the pandemic has forced nearly two-thirds of Americans to work remotely, making it clear just how much work can get done from home, even despite the presence of children. When people get certain perks from their jobs, they tend to value those perks more than they used to, according to research by Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson, a sociologist at Washington State University. Workers might resist being yanked back into offices after they’ve enjoyed the luxury of never changing out of their pajamas.

33 million have sought US unemployment aid since virus hit (AP) Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades. Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is the equivalent of one in five Americans who had been employed back in February, when the unemployment rate had reached a 50-year low of just 3.5%.

As Hunger Swells, Food Stamps Become a Partisan Flash Point (NYT) As a padlocked economy leaves millions of Americans without paychecks, lines outside food banks have stretched for miles, prompting some of the overwhelmed charities to seek help from the National Guard. New research shows a rise in food insecurity without modern precedent. Among mothers with young children, nearly one-fifth say their children are not getting enough to eat, according to a survey by the Brookings Institution. The reality of so many Americans running out of food is an alarming reminder of the economic hardship the pandemic has inflicted. But despite their support for spending trillions on other programs to mitigate those hardships, Republicans have balked at a long-term expansion of food stamps—a core feature of the safety net that once enjoyed broad support but is now a source of a highly partisan divide. Democrats want to raise food stamp benefits by 15 percent for the duration of the economic crisis, arguing that a similar move during the Great Recession reduced hunger and helped the economy. But Republicans have fought for years to shrink the program, saying that the earlier liberalization led to enduring caseload growth and a backdoor expansion of the welfare state.

Fears of ‘second wave’ hang over coronavirus successes (AP) Britain was expected to extend its nationwide lockdown on Thursday, but the European country hit hardest by the coronavirus plans cautiously to ease some restrictions on economic and social activity next week as it tries to reopen without sparking a devastating second wave of infections. Authorities in many countries are drawing up plans for how to cope with a resurgence in outbreaks even as they slowly work to reopen businesses and resume other activity halted to combat the pandemic. In Germany, which has begun to emerge from lockdown, authorities have begun drawing up plans to cope with any resurgence of the virus and experts in Italy doubled down on finding new victims and tracing their contacts. France, which hasn’t yet eased its lockdown, has already worked up a “reconfinement plan” in the event of a new wave.

Trump Vetoes Iran War Powers Resolution (Foreign Policy) On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed a bipartisan war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval to carry out military strikes against Iran, the latest in an ongoing battle between the White House and Capitol Hill over war powers authorities. Wednesday’s veto is not the first time that Trump has batted away congressional attempts to restrict his ability to use military force without a legislative greenlight. Lawmakers advanced similar measures to stop U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s war last year, which Trump also vetoed. But the lawmakers backing the latest resolution are undeterred, saying they’re playing the long game and inching their way closer to getting war powers authorities on the books.

The Irish give back (NYT) More than 170 years ago, the Choctaw Nation sent $170 to starving Irish families during the potato famine. A sculpture in County Cork commemorates the generosity of the tribe, itself poor. In recent decades, ties between Ireland and the Choctaws have grown. Now hundreds of Irish people are repaying that old kindness, giving to a charity drive for two Native American tribes suffering in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Poland postpones presidential election (Foreign Policy) A controversial presidential election in Poland, due to take place on Sunday, has now been postponed. The ruling Law and Justice party had pushed for the election to go ahead, but a dispute over how to enact postal voting on short notice derailed their plan.

Chemical leak at LG plant in India kills 11, about 1,000 ill (AP) A gas leaked from an LG chemical plant in southern India early Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. At least 11 people died and about 1,000 suffered breathing difficulties and other problems. The synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the LG Polymers plant in a city on India’s eastern coast while workers were preparing to restart the facility after a coronavirus lockdown was eased, state official Vinay Chand said. Chand said some people collapsed on the road and were rushed to a hospital. About 1,000 people in an area of 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) complained of breathing difficulties and a burning sensation in their eyes, he said.

India to begin massive evacuation operation from 12 countries (MENA) The first of more than 60 flights repatriating thousands of Indians stranded overseas by the coronavirus lockdown is due to set off on Thursday. Nearly 15,000 Indians are expected to return on special Air India flights from 12 countries over the next week. Passengers will pay their own fares and be quarantined on return. India suspended all international travel in March before it went into lockdown to curb Covid-19 infections. Eventually, about 200,000 Indians will be brought back, report local media.

Netanyahu cleared to form government (Foreign Policy) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surmounted the latest hurdle in his bid to retain power, as the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that his corruption charges should not get in the way of forming a government. Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, agreed a power-sharing deal in April after almost a year of deadlock and multiple elections. The new coalition partners expect their government to be sworn in next week. While the Supreme Court has allowed Netanyahu to continue in government, it pointed out that the ruling was not a preemptive absolution from his impending corruption trial. “The legal conclusion we reached does not diminish the severity of the pending charges against MK Netanyahu for violations of moral integrity and the difficulty derived from the tenure of a prime minister accused of criminal activity,” the court said.