#Funeral Homes Westchester

[bernardogarciamiami]

Choosing the Best Funeral Home in Westchester, FL: Services and Support for Your Family

Introduction:

Choosing the correct Funeral Home Westchester, FL is a big decision though you will only see them when there’s a death in the family. Apart from delivering important services required to pay tribute to your beloved, it is an establishment that provides comfort to families in mourning. That is why it is important to select a suitable facility out of the available choices. The information that will help any family decide on which funeral home in Westchester to choose will be discussed in this article including the kind of services offered, the cultural issues, and of essence the care that the funeral home shows. Knowledge of these factors makes it easier to decide on this emotional process.

Some Important Factors To Consider For Choosing A Funeral Home In Westchester, FL

Range of Services Offered

The sort of services being offered by the funeral homes in Westchester, FL, is the first thing that you need to look for when you are choosing one. A good funeral parlor should have plans for burial, cremation, non/religious ceremonies, and event planning. Further, check the services that are exclusive and may include personalized funeral services or green burial.

Culture Outlook and Diversity

Westchester is a cosmopolitan society today, therefore it is wise to select a funeral home that accepts the culture and values of a given ethnicity. Families usually prepare their lost one’s burial in compliance with cultural or religious practices they hold. There are always institutions with highly qualified staff specializing in multiethnic traditions, so choose funeral homes that will take care of all stages, starting with rituals and ending with clothing.

Reputation and Reviews

In this case, a look into more info about funeral homes in Westchester is important in trying to understand the quality of care of the funeral homes. Everyday real-life experiences such as the reviews done online the testimonials given out or even recommendations from friends or relatives. A funeral home with word-of-mouth approval is likely to be more truthful and committed to giving proper dignity to the deceased. Furthermore, it also helps to cross-check any membership to any professional body or certification as an extra precaution.

Staff Compassion and Support

To the experience at a funeral home, the attitude of the staff and their availability greatly matter. Search for a team that is compassionate, patient, and concerned. Funeral directors and the funeral establishment’s staff should extend good public courtesy to make the families’ burdens lighter. While consulting, learn how they relate themselves to you and if they are willing to hear and respond to your issues competently.

Facility and Amenities

Recipients must also pay attention to the operating funeral home and its capabilities in terms of their offerings. Comfort and friendliness of the surroundings also have an impact on the families and friends of the deceased. Try to preview areas where more extensive crowd-fitting can take place and areas where only specific family gatherings can be held.

Conclusion:

Selecting the right Funeral Home Westchester, FL would help in paying tribute to the life of your loved one and be of great help to your family in these times. In particular, comparing and contrasting the services offered, recognizing cultural sensitivity and staff care and the available facilities and services of the center will help to make the right choice in favor of the center suitable for your family. More so, a kind and reputable funeral home will be ready and willing to guide and assist one through this difficult time. Such businesses like Bernardo Garcia Funeral Homes are ready to take much care of all the nuances so that families can only face the bitterness and try to expand comfort in their misfortune.

[gerec]

Is there any fanfic where Nina survives? Or any dadneto AU where she is there as one of Magneto's children?

Here are some canon fics where Nina survives:

Snapshots by SlightWeasel

Everybody survives the woods confrontation. Past, present, and future ficlets about Erik and his family.

Changes by SlightWeasel

After the woods confrontation, Nina's parents take her to Charles' school.

There's a bit of an adjustment period.

Mansion by the Lake by flightinflame

When Nina manifests her abilities, Erik takes her and her mother to the one place he knows they will be safe. He finds himself once more thrown together with the man that he loves, and who he believed was forever lost to him.

For Charles, Erik's arrival brings challenges but also hope. And he could never turn away a child in need of help.

Morning by Yalu

AU: Nina lived. Magda didn't.

Four Funerals & A Wedding by midrashic

Four people who mourned Erik Lehnsherr, and one who didn't.

And here are some Dadneto aus that include Nina:

Talk, Baby, Talk by lyonet

“Enough,” Erik said furiously. “It’s over. Let it die.”

“Be fair, sugar,” Emma said. “We made good music. It was your choice to wear magenta armour and a cape.”

Good Together by friendlytikek (series)

In the seven months Charles has been dating Erik, he can’t recall a time when Lorna has been sick enough for Erik to use sad face emojis and to refuse to allow the babysitter to look after her. Like a good boyfriend, he decides to go over and help out.

Videos on the Internet by WaxRhapsodic (series)

“Papa! Charles makes videos on the internet!” Nina chimed excitedly.

Charles blushed a furious red at her innocent words as he tried to stammer out an explanation in the face of Erik’s newly intense, calculated perusal that took him in from head to toe.

He gave a nervous laugh, “I’ve never heard it put quite that way, Nina.”

A Matter of Convenience by flightinflame (series)

All Erik cares about is keeping Nina safe. It isn't always easy, not when his past stalks him and there are few options available to a single mutant omega, but he's determined to protect her at any cost.

Charles loves his sons, biological and fostered, more than anything. They are flourishing in his care, but the state doesn't think a single alpha can handle children.

A chance meeting gives both of them a solution to their problems. Marry, and no one will try and split up their families. Only what starts off as a simple contract soon becomes far more complicated.

MagicalMatchMaking by sebastian2017

Erik, frazzled single father on a trip to Disney World, meets Charles, equally frazzled single father.

Break the Mold by Baamon5evr

Charles always worried about Erik where their daughter, Nina, was concerned. It wasn’t the idea of fatherhood and Erik Lehnsherr that he thought could be a volatile mix, it was the idea of Erik and humans that got him worried. The moment each of their children was born, Charles knew without a shadow of a doubt that Lorna and David would be mutants and Nina would not.

To Love and Be Loved by librata

Erik wakes up on a Sunday morning to an empty bed and a house full of chaos.

Through the Barricades by starandrea (series)

Erik and Charles learned to live without each other once. It's harder the second time--so before they even discuss it, they've decided not to try. (Erik accidentally moves into the mansion without anyone but Charles noticing for days. He may be the first to return, but he won't be the last.)

home as a borderless metaphor by specficslut (homosociality)

Erik has been traded to a foreign king for a chest of gold and a hundred bushels of grain. In Westchester, he must learn to start a new life... and navigate the roles that have been thrust upon him, whether concubine or courtesan, consort or slave.

[pricescigar]

Unlocked potential

Summary: At the age of sixteen where her secondary mutation unlocked after science experiment, with everyone witnessing who she truly was... There were dire consequences.

Death. Death itself is a hard thing to process, to get over, but it's not to be forgotten.Harper's mind felt like it was at a constant still. She lacked the sleep she needed, her thoughts were barren, well the poor girl already had trouble sleeping. Her mind was constantly loud, it was rare to get the peace and quiet she craved for. Sometimes she always thought: When would this get easier? 

Her chest felt numb. A strange sinking feeling in her chest, most days She felt like a robot, going about her day, school, home work, studying, seeing Charles and Raven. They knew what she was going through, she just needed time to process things. 

The thought of eating didn't phase Harper much, her grandparents did the best they could to help her. But their support could only do so much. They also knew they were dealing with more than they anticipated.

The last couple of weeks seemed to be a blur for Harper, not fully being able to recall her younger years. Sometimes small flashes of memories would come back to her, but whenever she tried to grasp onto it. It would only disappear again after. Even seeing Shaw himself, she knew the man looked familiar but everything she tried to remember. Her brain refused to recall the memory. 

All she knew was that he cared for her. She did look like him though too. Perhaps to know that he cared, only for her? That was enough, for her empty shell of a mind. Harper felt like she was simply a version of herself. Sleeping became more of a struggle, the voices speaking non stop in her head… Not allowing her to fully sleep, the image of her parents' dead bodies still engraved into her mind.

Everyday Harper still asked the same old question to herself… How did her mind do that? 

Harper's grandparents looked at her differently now, she couldn't explain how but she knew very well. Breakfast, lunch time and dinner time. They predominantly sat in silence now. Did both of them really hate her that much? 

Yet Harper couldn't help but overthink about everything, she couldn't help but question as to why she was like this. Why the one thing that was supposed to be her “family.” Loathed Her.

The undertakers and doctors who examined her dead parent's bodies couldn't determine how they died, so they laid it off as an unexpected death. There was nothing more to that on the matter. The funeral itself felt blurry to her, Harper didn't know what to do or say either. At the wake she spent time by herself mainly, however a lingering feeling persisted that someone was watching her… 

Despite all of that with Charles and Raven still being by her side, it made it all the better. Having friends by her side is what she really needed right about now. People who truly understood her, they understood her pain and what happened. Sometimes all you need is a shoulder to lay on, anything better than your own family.

. . . .

1948, Westchester, New York

The teenage years for a mutant are most potent, most dangerous. Harper's grandparents were always strict and unfair to her, which didn't help. Harper would regularly get into trouble at school for hurting students, unintentionally she was hurting their minds. The human mind was so weak, fragile compared to mutants. Sometimes her telepathy felt like a bad headache on humans, If she concentrated hard enough. She could cause excruciating pain, until the brain could take no more and simply shut down.

May 15th, 1948

No matter what punishment her grandparents gave Harper, it always seemed to make everything worse. Her telepathy fed upon her emotions, making her unstable. And if left uncontrolled, it would become catastrophic… Due to how powerful her own mind was, her grandparents firmly believed they had a right to be scared of her. How she too hurt their minds when she released that wave of telepathic energy, before Shaw tried to leave with her but failed.

Why would mutants be scared of their own kind? 

They were fully aware of what she could do so far with her telepathy, but that didn't mean anything to them. They were constantly on edge that Shaw could come back any time, he came back various times without being. Delivering gifts for his beloved daughter, over Christmas and her birthday too. Every parcel that came, her grandparents kept them hidden in the attic.  Shaw’s words were always on their minds;

“One day you'll come to regret keeping here, like a bird in a cage .”

Sometimes Harper would find a way to cry alone, so no one could hear how vulnerable she felt. Sometimes she'd scream or yell in anger, when no one else was around but her. Sometimes… She wished Shaw would come, ending her grandparents' life. Just so she could take her away, to feel something entirely different.

What a true family feels like.

After recently turning sixteen years of age, Harper found an easier way to forget about her parents death. Simply to not talk about them anymore, and focus all thoughts on other things. It slowly got easier, but she replaced the pain with something else. 

Harper took part in a school project, she knew science well enough and had a partner with her as they were conducting the experiment in front of the whole class. Mixing two chemicals together, to see what would happen. However it went wrong quickly, as the chemicals began to react badly. She realised what was happening, out of instinct she put her hands in front of it and it exploded. However, Harper quickly absorbed the energy making it smaller, enclosing it in her hand. Feeling the energy inside of her.

Putting the energy back on the experiment, the latter of it was far too powerful and uncontrolled which resulted in the science equipment breaking before the energy disappeared.

It made her feel stronger, it was a strange,  wonderful feeling indeed

Realising what she had done, what the others had witnessed and so did the teacher. She knew she was in deep shit. Harper was sent to the principal's office and her grandparents were called in, they found her sitting on one of the chairs not looking at them. Of course they stood there confused.

“We have a situation.” The principal started to speak, he cleared his throat slightly. “To put it simply, we do not accept… Freaks in our establishment.” He placed his hands on the table.

“Our teacher witnessed your granddaughter absorb the energy from the Science experiment, of course she tried to contain it but it destroyed the equipment in the process.”

Harper's godfather stayed silent and he nodded in agreement due to the situation. “Right, well I'll send you a check for all the equipment. And I'm guessing she'll be suspended again?” He asked.

“No.” The principal firmly spoke. “For the safety of my staff members and for other students, it's better that your granddaughter doesn't come back at all.” He said.

“Better yet, it's probably better to keep her locked away. But I'm not the guardian here.” He said. “We'll send you the cheque at the end of the week.”

Harper left the principal's office with her grandparents, when no one else was around. Her grandfather teleported them back to their home, appearing back in their living room.

“Are you crazy?” Her grandfather said with anger. “We're trying to make you better, not to become like him. But I can see that's not helping, since you can already do what he can.” 

“It wasn't my fault!” Harper spoke. “I would've gotten hurt if that experiment exploded on me. It felt like something unlocked within me, and subconsciously, I put my hands in front of it and… I don't know.” She sighed.

Her grandfather pinched his temple before sighing. “Sometimes I don't know what to do with you sometimes.” He spoke with frustration.

“First hurting students, now causing destruction. Just get out of our sight.” 

Harper left her bag aside before she walked away. Walking out of the house to get some fresh air.

“You're too hard on her sometimes.” Her grandmother spoke. “She already knows we don't know what to do with her, and you yelling doesn't make it any better.” 

“I should've let that bastard take her.” Her grandfather spoke, mentioning Shaw without even saying his name. He shook his head and walked away.

Harper went to go and see Charles and Raven, well… She mainly wanted to see Charles himself, the Xavier mansion was like her second home. She found comfort in the house itself, how beautiful and peaceful it was. And also because Charles and Raven were there too.

Harper knew Charles would be playing Chess in his study, she loved playing Chess with him. Despite both of them being very competitive. And so she went to see him. She opened the door and saw Charles playing Chess by himself.

Charles looked up seeing the door was open and saw Harper there which made him smile. 

“Harper! How are you sweetheart?” He said but seeing the different look on his face, he didn't say anything more, he stood up from his seat opening his arms for her. 

Harper immediately went into his arms, wrapping them around his body as the two shared a hug. The two remained like that for some time, before she pulled away.

“Something different at school happened today.” Harper began to explain. “We were doing a science experiment, it went wrong but I… I absorbed the Energy. I tried to fix it, but the equipment broke. And now… I'm  expelled from school, the principal called me a freak.”

Charles stayed silent listening to her closely as she explained the situation, he guided her over to the sofa and sat down next to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It isn't your fault.” Charles did his best to reassure her. “Your mutations… They are different, but that doesn't mean that isn't a bad thing.”

“I always feel bad coming to you for my problems… And I'm sorry, but sometimes I feel so alone and I don't know who else to turn to.” She felt tears forming into her eyes.

“Hey,” His tone was much softer, his blue eyes staring into her brown eyes. He cupped her face into his hands. 

“Never apologise, you and I. We're in this together, through the good and bad. Never feel bad for always coming to me, because I'll always take care of you.” He reassured her.

Harper slowly nodded to his words, her body leant into his. Charles placed his chin on her head as he hugged her. He wished he could take all this pain and sorrow away from her. 

“And I'll take care of you, like how you've been taking care of me.” Harper spoke with a whisper, which made Charles smile. He rubbed her back as a form of comfort, before slowly and gradually pulling away.

“Well since you won't be going to school, you can always come here. Everyday, for as long as you want.” Charles offered to her. 

“We can always teach each other things we need to know. Plus it'll give me more of a chance to beat you at Chess.” He teased to make her laugh.

She laughed softly, playfully pushing him. “Yeah, in your dreams Charles.” She wiped the tears from her eyes, a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

“Come,” He sorted out the Chess pieces, putting them back into their rightful place before gesturing to her.

“White or black?” He asked, sitting across from her this time.

“Black of course.” She smiled sitting up as she moved to sit across from him, Harper watched as the two began to play chess together.

[stormxpadme]

19&30 for bith charles and erik pls 🤭

The Excessively Detailed Headcanon Tumblr Meme 19 - What do they think about before falling asleep at night?

It's incredibly cliche and shipping-indulgant but I do honestly think, Charles ponders Erik a lot still. Inevitably, too, since he constantly has to deal with the guy still in spite of them haven broken up decades ago. Because obviously, the Brotherhood is nonstop causing trouble for Charles' team. But also because minds are dazed and uncontrolled in exhaustion aka especially right before falling asleep; so that's where stuff usually suppressed easily comes to the surface. So yeah, this is when Charles tends to think about his regrets in life, and not being able to keep Erik in it as his partner is definitely the biggest one.

I won't be self-indulgent enough to say, Erik does the same, simply because Erik thinks about Charles a lot more during the day already. Mostly because he has to slalom between not letting Charles stop him from destroying conquering the world and doing the latter in a way that will not demand any too-large sacrifices in mutant world and especially not in Charles' little world in Westchester. Can't piss off the guy you used to love too much and all.

30 - Reaction to sudden intrapersonal disaster (eg close family member suddenly dies)

Charles is the freezing emotions type in case of grief. He's got far too much responsibility to allow himself to breakdown. Also, he's been doing this job of hosting superhero teams long enough to know the game. He knows every time he sends these people out it's very possible, some of them won't come back. So it's usually not entirely unexpected when it happens. Having grown up in an abusive environment as a child, Charles also learned early on how to box his most personal emotions in. When his parents died, Erik was the only one who was allowed to see him openly grief, and even that only after like, 3 days during which Charles was busy with formalities. Somebody's gotta do the ugly job, after all. Ain't no one got time for things like crying. When all is said and done though and the funeral guests have gone home, a good bottle of expensive hard booze will be a most welcome bed partner that night.

Erik doesn't see any need for hiding to the world when he's suffering. Like. Fuck this and fuck everyone responsible, and the rest is casualties. He leashes out hard and fast and unrestrained, with words, and revenge, and action and his powers. Anger is just so much more bearable than pain. If someone really close to Erik dies, you might want to hurry up with your last prayer because then the magnetic field around the planet might lose its stability.

[anonymous1038]

The Stars Burn Bright

@ila-appreciationweek day 5

Mariza and William Bright once had a son.

A son that was as kind and sweet as them. Happy, full of energy, the greatest son anyone can ask for.

Eighteen years later, he died.

The police and Mayor Green say that his death was caused by Noah Marshall, but they knew that something else took their son away. Something sinister, something he told them about before that fateful night. They couldn’t bring themselves to believe that a friend of their son’s would murder him, despite the hard evidence presented to them.

Something that lived in the woods. A spirit named Redfield. They once believed he was the real reason why he died.

Jasper had told them that Jane’s death was due to ‘unfortunate circumstances’. They didn’t believe it, but they decided not to pry, believing that one day he’ll open up to them about what really happened, and how the Marshalls lost their daughter.

And he did, at the end of freshman year, during homecoming.

“...Redfield snapped her neck. She was the only one who wasn’t scared...and he killed her...”

Mariza remembered hugging her son tight, while William was stroking his dyed hair. They told him over and over again that he doesn't have anything to be ashamed of, and that it wasn’t his fault Jane died.

Their words weren’t enough.

They remember the day they managed to get back to Westchester. A day after homecoming. Mariza was in hysterics, panicking over her little boy’s safety and if the police had arrested him for Cody’s death. William was the only reason why she hadn’t flown off the handle, reassuring her that there was no evidence he did the deed and that Sheriff Cunningham wouldn’t make a severe error in his judgement.

But he would lying if he said he wasn’t freaking out either.

They arrived at the police station, demanding for answers on what happened while they were overseas.

All of Jasper’s friends, minus Noah and Jane, were there. None of them were happy to break the news.

“Jasper’s dead.”

Ever since then, the Brights blamed themselves for his death. If they hadn’t gone overseas, they could’ve kept him safe. He would still be here, listening and humming some new song that came out, helping Mariza in the kitchen and failing miserably and setting off the smoke alarm, play around with Hilda in the front yard with their neighbour Cid, tell William the latest dumbest stories that happened in school...

...if only they were still in Westchester.

They locked themselves in their house for two days afterwards. And only came out for Jasper’s funeral.

The image of his body burned itself into their minds. Wide, unseeing eyes, still dressed in a golden suit stained with blood.

They cremated him. They didn’t want the last thing to remember their son by was his dead body.

When the funeral’s over, and they were about to go home, they were approached by Lucas Thomas. Who told them the truth.

“Jane was behind it all. The attack on homecoming, why Noah betrayed us...and why he killed him.”

The Brights knew of Jasper’s little crush on the boy, but chose not to say it to him in hopes he finds out for himself one day and gather the courage to tell it to him himself.

And he did.

And they weren’t there to see it.

Despite this, they were still proud to hear that he managed to do so, and accepted Lucas as their unofficial son-in-law, no matter what his parents would say.

They just wish they had more time.

A second chance. Just to hold him again.

.~.

“You know, when I was a ghost, sometimes I would come by to look at my old house. I don’t remember much, but I still remember what my parents looked like.”

It’s been a few days after the disaster at the carnival. Though there were still a few horrors roaming around, they had a cure at their disposal to save the remaining ones. They just had to hunt every single one of them down.

But for now, before Jasper can do his part, there was one thing he wanted to do.

Say hello to his parents.

Violet was with him, (who was carrying him with one arm despite his wishes of wanting to stand and walk or float), along with Noah and Lucas. But even with the support, he found himself anxious on seeing them again.

How would they react to seeing their son, back from the dead after four years of grieving?

“You sure we shouldn’t just use the cover story of you being kidnapped?” Violet asks, walking towards the familiar house he lived in since childhood. It was close to the woods. It brought a sense of comfort to him. “I know you told your parents about the whole ghost thingy, but would they believe you being resurrected and all?”

“They did a lot of research on ghosts when I told them about Jasper’s situation.” Lucas says, giving their intertwined hands a light squeeze. “They shouldn’t be surprised by the supernatural bit. They were out of town when we did the ritual both times though...”

“Yeah, but seeing your son alive would give them a shock.” Noah commented, and soon enough, they all stand in front of the doors of the house, still well maintained even after all this time.

“...so should we be standing here while you do the thing?” Violet asked. “Or do you want us to be here?”

“...I think I want to be alone with this. If you don’t mind.” Jasper responds.

“Of course love.” Lucas nods, and Noah gives a thumbs up.

“You can’t walk or stand properly dumbass.” Violet glares at him, refusing to relinquish her hold on him. “At least let me be here so you don’t fall on your ass while talking with your parents.”

“I can float.”

“And floating might cause your old man and woman to have a heart attack.”

“You just want an excuse to meet my parents, don’t you?”

“Oh shut up.”

Jasper shrugs, knowing that Violet would not let this up no matter how hard he tries. “Fine.”

The other two walk off to the side to not be seen as Jasper takes a deep breath in, raises his hand, and knocks on the door.

“Yes? I’m coming.”

God, it’s been so long since he actually heard his mother’s voice.

The door swings open. “How can I....” She trails off, her eyes going wide when she saw a face she never thought she would see again.

Jasper manages a smile, waving at his mother. “Hi mom.”

Mariza walks over to her son, her gentle hand resting on his cheek, lips trembling and eyes filling with tears. She seems to be ignoring Violet’s presence.

“Is it really you?”

He nods. “Yes mom. It’s me.”

In a blink of an eye, his mother scoops him out of Violet’s arms and into hers, hugging him so tight he was sure he was going to get crushed. He can hear her sobbing as they fell to the ground.

“What’s going on?” William walks to the doorway, confused. “Is every...” He stops when he sees him. And just like his wife, his eyes go wide, unbelieving.

“Dad...” Jasper looks up at him, smiling even wider. “I missed you.”

It didn’t take long for him to join the embrace, dropping to the ground and wrapping his arms around his wife and son, letting out years of pent up emotions.

“I missed you too son. We missed you.”

“You don’t have to miss me anymore. I’m here.”

As the Bright family reunite, Violet feels a small pang in her heart, just like she felt when she saw Elliot reunite with Harper. Her not so real family wouldn’t get the chance to hug her one last time.

But at least this family had the chance.

And she was satisfied with that.

[factarts]

Crumm montauk ny funeral

Crumm Montauk New York Funeral Hij was 72. De heer Crumm was een professional ballet danser van begin en eind twintig en trad op met het Colorado Ballet, het Kansas City Ballet en het Chicago Ballet.

After he retired from ballet, heer Crumm earned a bachelor's degree at New York University. Hij werkte als algemeen aannemer, voornamelijke in New York City, en kwam umperne dertig jaar geleden naar Montauk.

“It was a big part of his life. He came here every weekend.” Hij gaf zijn liefde voor surfen door aan zijn son en dochter.

Crumm Montauk New York Funeral en Ballet en Chicago Ballet The Crumms bought a house in Montauk in 2001 and divided their time between Montauk and Westchester County.

He also leaves behind his children, Sam Crumm from Montauk and Olivia Crumm from New Haven, Connecticut, and one grandson, Charlie Crumm.

'We waren een hecht team', zei zijn vrouw, dravy verwijzend naar 'zijn grote liefde voor zijn gezin.'

He leaves behind two brothers, Chad Crumm from New Orleans and Peter Crumm from Boston, and one sister, Nina Davis from Brisbane, Australia.

A paddle for Mr. Crumm is scheduled for Friday evening at 6 p.m. on Ditch Plain Beach.

Crumm montauk ny funeral

The Montauk community celebrates the life of one of its beloved trails.

Nick Vernon Crumm. Nick was a lifelong surfer who also loved skiing, ice hockey and pickleball. Nick died on June 12 from Alzheimer's disease.

Crumm Funeral Home, Montauk, New York On the evening of June 21, the family organized a canoe trip in Ditch Plains with over 300 participants. Familie, vrienden, surfers, pickleballspelers en kennissen kamen samen om Nick te herdenken en zijn familie te steunen.

Een groep roweiers liep het strand op, vormde een grote ring, heild elkaar hand vast, deilde remininen en werd de hechte, sustentende groep die ze zijn. Op het strand keken forbidgangers naar het troerende tafereel en deelden ze goede reminischeren aan hun tijd met Nick.

Nick was born on August 14, 1951 in Fairfield, Connecticut as the son of Charles Crumm and Anne Temple. He grew up in Connecticut on Martha's Vineyard. Toen hij in de twintig was, he was a professional ballet dancer.

The performance met Colorado Ballet, Kansas City Ballet and Chicago Ballet. Later he returned to university and received a BA at NYU. Ultimately, he worked as a contractor, mainly in New York. In 1990, Nick married Janelle Williams.

[nathanslifka]

Nathan Slifka is a Senior Project Production manager for Power Home Remodeling. His career starting in NJ as a remodeling consultant. He was 1 of 6 consultants in the company chosen to move to Texas to open their Dallas office in 2016. After almost 2 years as a consultant, he moved to the Project Services division.

[aerikvon]

[maryannmccarra-fitzpatrick]

Butterfly Release sponsored by Stand Up For Peekskill and Joseph F. Nardone Funeral Home, Saturday 21st August 2021, Depew Park, #Peekskill

#StandUpForPeekskill

#NardoneFuneralHome

#PeekskillNY

#CityOfPeekskill

#ButterflyRelease

#StandUp4Peekskill

#HudsonValley

#WestchesterCounty

#RiverTown

#LeestherBrown

#Nardone

#Depew

#DepewPark

(Photographs: Brendan Walsh Fitzpatrick)

[man-reading]

John Cheever: Possessed by Demons

Pulitzer Prize winning American novelist and short story author John Cheever (1912-1982) suffered from many demons, chiefly a debilitating alcoholism. Two years after his death his daughter Susan wrote a memoir, Home Before Dark, in which she mentioned her father’s guilt-inducing bisexuality, revealing that at the end of his life, when he had dried out, he found love with “Rip,” a former student whose real name is Max Zimmer. Rip moved in with Cheever and his wife Mary, driving the esteemed author to medical treatments and chopping wood for the fireplace. Max even served as a pall bearer at Cheever’s funeral and sat with the family during the service. While Rip was living in Cheever’s household, however, Cheever was so determined to give the appearance of a 100% heterosexual male that he took Rip out to the woods in order to have sex. Before Mary’s death she nevertheless said that she knew what was going on all along. Susan’s brother Benjamin later edited a volume of Cheever’s letters, writing in his introduction how difficult it had been learning the extent of his father’s homosexual activity, even though Cheever had come out to Benjamin two weeks before his death. With the 2009 publication of Cheever: A Life by Blake Bailey, Susan Cheever said that she was astonished to learn how much gay activity there had been in her father’s life. Among his dalliances were relations with photographer Walker Evans, writer Calvin Kentfield, Tom Smallwood, Allan Gurganus and various male prostitutes – all of it leading to a toxic form of self hatred, for which Cheever was nearly without peer. After Cheever’s death from cancer, his widow Mary continued to live in their Westchester County, NY, home for more than thirty years. After Mary’s death last year at the age of 95, the five acre property once occupied by the “Chekhov of the suburbs” was put up for sale. The resulting media blitz in newspapers and magazines brought Cheever's name back from the dust bin, warts and all, including  knowledge of Cheever’s bisexuality and near death from alcoholism. If any good came from this, it was introducing his writing to a younger generation which had not read any of his novels or short stories.

Cheever wrote five novels and many dozens of short stories (many first published in the New Yorker), for which he won Pulitzer prizes, National Book Critics Circle awards, and the National Medal for Literature. As well, his work has been included in the Library of America.

[innersoultyrant]

Covid-19 has already exhausted the US. And it’s only the start of a dark and deadly winter

For weeks, experts have warned Americans in increasingly dire terms that this winter will be one of the darkest periods in the nation’s public health history.

Now that time is upon us.

From California to Kansas, Massachusetts to Florida, and everywhere in-between, doctors, nurses, funeral home directors and food bank organizers are bracing for a devastating season. They’re already stretched thin and exhausted after months of confronting the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, but they fear the worst is still yet to come.

“I think we’re past the breaking point,” said Dr. Adolphe Edward, CEO of El Centro Regional Medical Center in Southern California. “The staff is here, but they’re broken.”

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-borat-2-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

Edward’s hospital on Thursday had just two beds left before its intensive care unit reaches capacity. A second field hospital with 50 beds has been built in part of their parking lot — a scene reminiscent of the Air Force veteran’s time in Baghdad.

“I might really be back in a war zone,” he said. “We’re at war against Covid.”

Hospitals like El Centro have already been pushed to the brink as hospitalizations climb nationwide. But with colder temperatures pushing people indoors and a weary public eager to mark the holiday season, health care workers could be overrun.

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-tenet-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

The numbers paint a bleak picture. On Thursday, the US had its highest day of new cases and deaths, with 217,664 and 2,879, respectively, according to Johns Hopkins University. And there were a record 100,667 hospitalizations, per the Covid Tracking Project.

And while vaccines are on the way, the US has a long road ahead before it can return to normal.

“The reality is, December and January and February are going to be rough times,” Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned Wednesday. “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult in the public health history of this nation, largely because of the stress that’s going to put on our health care system.”

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-after-we-collided-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

There’s a dire need for health care workers

Nurses at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital in New Rochelle, New York — the East Coast’s first Covid-19 hotspot — took to the picket line this week, demanding better pay, more staffing and higher quality protective gear ahead of a potential surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations.

“Right now, we have less staff than we had in the spring … when Covid started,” nurse Kathy Santoiemma told CNN affiliate News12 Westchester. “So we’re not even worried — we’re terrified.”

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-come-play-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

The need for more staff is being felt in communities across the country. On Thursday, Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders announced plans to build a field hospital in Lowell, and she pleaded for people to step forward to staff the facility.

“If you have the skills, the can-do attitude and have time to work in a hospital, we need you,” she said. “Now is the time to step up and serve your neighbors, your community and your loved ones.”

Edward is also feeling the squeeze in El Centro. Despite the additional tent erected nearby, he’s not certain the facility can take on more patients without more staff. Those already working in the hospital are “severely exhausted,” he said, and some are falling ill.

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-the-new-mutants-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

He doesn’t expect the pandemic to let up any time soon, and he’s not sure how much longer his staff can keep going. “The resiliency starts to break down at some point, regardless of how much I know that this team is willing to do,” he said.

Nurses at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center in Hutchinson, Kansas, are also dreading a potential surge in cases.

“Two to three weeks we’re going to be just swamped,” nurse Mary Jones told CNN affiliate KWCH. Jones, who works in the Covid-19 unit, told the station she’s lost more patients in the last couple months than she has in the last decade.

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-the-croods-a-new-age-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

“There are days that you go home and you’re just not sure you’re going to come back, days you get here and find out someone you were taking care of two days ago is gone,” she said.

And yet, nurses are still dealing with patients who deny the virus is even real, she said. One patient told Jones that “masks don’t make any difference and Covid isn’t really a thing — it doesn’t exist.”

Funeral homes are inundated

That stress extends to all aspects of a community, including funeral homes like Frye Chapel & Mortuary in Blythe, California, along the state’s southeastern border with Arizona.

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-come-away-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

Sheila Kruger, the funeral home’s managing partner, told CNN her business has tripled. She’s booked with funerals for the next four or five weeks, with the coronavirus accounting for a growing share of deaths.

“We’ve had married couples that die within a day of each other, a husband and wife. We’ve had parents and children die within a week of each other. It’s heart wrenching,” she said.

Kruger’s staff was overwhelmed this summer, handling 135 deaths in one month compared to the average of 55. She’s since doubled her staff and purchased additional refrigerated units to store bodies. But now they’re filling up again.

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-the-war-with-grandpa-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

Experts believe the death toll is going to climb exponentially. Last week, Dr. Jonathan Reiner of George Washington University School of Medicine, predicted the rate of deaths would likely double in less than two weeks to an average of 4,000 a day.

Kruger’s not alone. In Rockford, Illinois, Tim Honquest, director of the Honquest Family Funeral Homes, told CNN affiliate WREX that his business ran out of refrigerated space to store bodies last month.

His business nearly doubled in November alone — conducting 54 funerals compared to the usual 30. Twenty-six of the funerals last month were due to Covid-19.

While Kruger feels her staff can handle the boom in business, she believes some are suffering from post-traumatic stress, partly due to having to repeatedly inform grieving families they can’t have a funeral for five weeks. “We’re all just kind of cringing and saying, ‘We do not want to do this again,’” she said.

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-freaky-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

The demand for food is through the roof

The needs aren’t limited to medical staff. Many families are just trying to make ends meet.

Karen Sosa waited in line at a Los Angeles food bank this week for the first time. She’s been out of work for just two weeks, but her family has four children to feed, so they’re taking advantage of the resources available.

“We don’t know when we’re going to have income, so that means we don’t know when we’re going to be able to buy groceries,” she said. “This is a good lifesaver. We don’t know when we’ll have money, but we’ll at least have food.”

Sosa isn’t alone. There are lines across the country, including in Miami, where Paco Vélez, President and CEO of Feeding South Florida, said more than a thousand families lined up at a food distribution event on Thursday, to pick up boxes filled with milk, pre-cooked chicken and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

https://philomathesian.sites.wfu.edu/forums/topic/full-watch-honest-thief-2020-movie-online-free-hd/

But those boxes are funded in part by the US Department of Agriculture’s Coronavirus Food Assistance program — and that help ends this week.

“These food boxes run out at the end of this week … and then the rest of December we’re going to have to figure out how we’re going to bring in food to make sure that these families have enough food for the rest of the month,” Vélez said.

Los Angeles Regional Food Bank President and CEO Michael Flood says his organization’s food distribution is up 145% — unprecedented demand. Every day, he sees families worried about keeping a roof over their heads and where they’ll get their next meal. And many of those seeking help are doing so for the first time, like Sosa.

“We don’t really know when this is going to end,” he said.

A couple from Hawaii was arrested over the weekend after allegedly flying home knowing that they both had tested positive for Covid-19.

https://aldeliana.medium.com/covid-19-has-already-exhausted-the-us-and-its-only-the-start-of-a-dark-and-deadly-winter-b94b0343f220

Wesley Moribe and Courtney Peterson of Wailua traveled with a child on a United Airlines flight out of San Francisco to Lihue, Hawaii, on November 29.

According to a preliminary report, the couple had been instructed by the Quarantine Station at the San Francisco International Airport not to fly and to isolate, a Kaua’i Police Department news release said.

Fully aware of their positive Covid-19 test results, they nevertheless boarded the flight, endangering other passengers, according to the release.

Moribe, 41, and Peterson, 46, were arrested upon arrival in Lihue and charged with second-degree reckless endangering, the release said. They were each released on $1,000 bail.

The couple was banned from flying United Airlines while the airline is investigating, United said in a statement to CNN. The child was released into the care of a family member and Child Protective Services was notified, the release said. The child’s relationship with the suspects was not disclosed.

https://www.guest-articles.com/news/covid-19-has-already-exhausted-the-us-and-its-only-the-start-of-a-dark-and-deadly-winter-06-12-2020

“We continue to request visitors and residents alike to follow the Governor’s Emergency Rules and take all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Kaua’i Police Chief Todd Raybuck said in the news release. CNN was not able to find contact information nor an attorney listed for the couple on Wednesday evening.

The White House coronavirus task force offered some direct recommendations to states in its weekly report after telling officials that “the Covid risk to all Americans is at a historic high.”

CNN has obtained weekly reports from dozens of states that warn the US is “in a very dangerous place” in the pandemic as the nation sees record-high daily death counts and hospitalizations with the fear of additional surge after the Thanksgiving holiday.

That fear is so great that the task force this week has told public health officials to take matters into their own hands if policies aren’t stringent enough to match the moment.

“If state and local policies do not reflect the seriousness of the current situation, all public health officials must alert the state population directly,” reports sent to each state dated November 29 said.

They also outlined behavior guidelines depending on age or risk factors, such as those older than 65 getting groceries and medicine delivered, because the risk is so high.

“If you are under 40, you need to assume you became infected during the Thanksgiving period if you gathered beyond your immediate household. Most likely, you will not have symptoms; however, you are dangerous to others and you must isolate away from anyone at increased risk for severe disease and get tested immediately,” the reports said.

[bernardogarciamiami]

Funeral Directors Miami, FL - How to Choose the Right Funeral Director in Miami

Planning a funeral is never easy. It’s an emotional time, and making decisions can feel overwhelming. Choosing the right funeral director can make this process smoother and less stressful. There are many funeral directors in Miami, FL to choose but finding the one that fits your needs is the key. In this article, we will explore simple ways that can help you pick the right funeral director in Miami, FL.

1. Look for Experience: Experience matters. A good funeral director knows how to handle everything, from paperwork to emotional support. Ask how long they’ve been in the business. Experienced funeral directors in Miami, FL, will understand the unique needs of families and guide you through every step.

2. Check Their Services: Not all funeral directors offer the same services. Some focus on traditional burials, while others specialize in cremation or eco-friendly options. Make a list of what you need, like transportation, viewing arrangements, or help with permits. Once you know your needs, check if the funeral director offers those services.

3. Ask about Costs: Funerals can be expensive, so it's important to understand the costs upfront. A trustworthy funeral director will give you a clear breakdown of prices. Don’t be afraid to ask questions like:

Are there any hidden fees?

What’s included in the package?

Can I customize the services?

The right funeral director in Miami, FL, will be transparent about costs and help you stay within your budget.

4. Read Reviews and Get Recommendations: Online reviews can be helpful. Look for feedback from families who have used their services. Were they professional? Were they kind and supportive? Also, ask friends or family members if they can recommend a funeral director in Miami, FL. Personal recommendations often lead to the best choices.

5. Visit the Funeral Home: If possible, visit the funeral home. It gives you a sense of their facilities and how they treat families. Is the space clean and welcoming? Do the staff members seem caring and attentive? A visit can tell you a lot about their professionalism.

6. Consider Cultural and Religious Needs: Miami is a culturally diverse city, and funeral customs vary. If your family has specific traditions or religious needs, ensure the funeral director understands and respects them. Ask if they’ve worked with similar requests before.

7. Look for Compassion and Communication: A funeral director should be more than a service provider—they should be a source of comfort. Pay attention to how they communicate. Are they patient? Do they listen to your concerns? The right funeral director in Miami, FL, will treat you with empathy and respect.

8. Check Their Availability: Funerals often need to be arranged quickly. Make sure the funeral director is available when you need them. Ask about their response times and how to reach them during emergencies.

9. Trust Your Instincts: Sometimes, it all comes down to how you feel. If a funeral director makes you feel comfortable and supported, they might be the right choice. Trust your instincts when making this important decision.

10. Don’t Rush the Decision: While time is often limited, try not to rush. Take a moment to review your options and choose a funeral director who aligns with your family’s needs.

Final Thoughts

Finding the right funeral director in Miami, FL, can make a difficult time a little easier. Look for someone experienced, compassionate, and transparent. Ask questions, visit their facilities, and take your time to decide. Remember, the right funeral director is there to guide you with care and respect. They’ll help you honor your loved one in the best way possible.

[disciplesofmalcolm]

6-27-20 COVID-19 News Dump

Recent news: >Florida records new daily high with nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases archive.is/BU509 >Alcohol consumption suspended at Florida bars due to ‘widespread non-compliance’ amid coronavirus spike archive.is/PtHaa >SEVERAL SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITALS REPORT LESS THAN 7% OF ICU BEDS AVAILABLE archive.is/T5x4V >Tweak in Florida's ICU bed reporting called ‘data manipulation’:The wording was changed from “current number of COVID + patients admitted into ICU beds” to “current number of COVID + (positive) patients currently receiving ICU level of care.” archive.is/A0UN5 >Maryland ‘reopen’ protest organizer sickened with COVID-19 >Walters declined an interview request from either newspaper, which reported that he said he would not provide any information to public health officials trying to trace the spread of the disease. archive.is/GmHFb >The surge continues: Utah reports 578 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, with one new death; St. George ICU nearing capacity archive.is/PITik >Residents are asked to self-quarantine after about 85 people who visited a Michigan bar get Covid-19 >"There are likely more people infected with Covid-19 not yet identified." >The bar followed safety guidelines for employees, capacity guidelines and table spacing, the statement said. archive.is/lfVLi >Chicago Sky guard Sydney Colson tests positive for COVID-19 >Speaking on a video call during the 2020 WNBA draft, Dolson said the virus hit home as her entire family contracted COVID-19. archive.is/RAq6N >Exclusive: Nearly 600 — And Counting — US Health Workers Have Died Of COVID-19 archive.is/flR9P >Kansas: Increase In COVID-19 Cases Related To Attendance At Wild Horse Saloon archive.is/dvKgB

More recent news: >Canada: Officials said there are 30,000 patients whose surgeries were postponed or not scheduled at all after the province put restrictions on non-urgent surgeries in mid-March. >It could take up to two years and at least $250 million in extra funding to address the extensive backlog of elective surgeries postponed in B.C. since the peak of its pandemic, the provincial government announced Thursday. archive.is/vvW3E >Bangladesh: Govt plans to charge for Covid-19 tests >Coronavirus suspects will not be able to test their samples for free anymore at state-run facilities as the health ministry is planning to introduce fees. archive.is/xq1Oj >South Africa: 775 Schools hit by Covid-19: 1169 teachers, 523 students infected archive.is/KXRue >COVID-19 Cases Increase As Testing Falls in Wisconsin archive.is/KuS89 >Florida:141 Duval County inmates test positive for COVID-19 >Reported cases nearly double >Of those cases, 70 were reported in a span of 24 hours. archive.is/D4FOg >COVID-19 victim posts haunting warning on Facebook days before death >EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — One Texas family is in mourning after the sudden death of a family member from California who contracted COVID-19 at a party in California and now must wait two weeks to conduct funeral services. >Tommy Macias, 51, attended a party about two weeks ago and began to show symptoms a week later. >He posted an impassioned message on Facebook on lamenting previously ignoring social distancing and mask-wearing recommendations and expressed guilt for exposing his family. >“Because of my stupidity I put my mom and sisters’ and my family’s health in jeopardy. This has been a very painful experience,” he wrote. >“Hopefully with God’s help, I’ll be able to survive this.” >Macias was dead less than two days later. >14 more members of the family got infected also. archive.is/reWec

Additional recent news: >New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed the State Department of Health to investigate the potential COVID-19 exposure at a high school graduation ceremony in Westchester County. >An official press release said a person who had recently traveled to Florida, and attended the Horace Greeley High School ceremony, began showing symptoms from COVID-19, and then tested positive. >Officials say four more individuals in attendance have since tested positive for the coronavirus. archive.is/2aBoK This is a weird one from Stanford: >Stanford professor says rise in COVID-19 cases is proof that virus is tracking human behavior >“The virus would be very happy if we all went back and started socializing,” Dr. Siegel said. archive.is/eO1kH Panic buying returns: H-E-B limits toilet paper, paper towels as COVID-19 cases rise in San Antonio, Texas >The city has seen a significant uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the course of the last two weeks. Bexar County has 8,857 cases to date and the death toll resides at 105. archive.is/RfftD >A library in Michigan has had to ask its patrons to stop microwaving books in an apparent effort to kill COVID-19 archive.is/Xtr4H >Pence tries to declare coronavirus over as Trump pushes reopening and campaigning archive.is/k9Waz 1 week later: >New U.S. coronavirus cases break record; Pence cancels campaign events in Arizona, Florida archive.is/MIlqj

[olivermajor226]

Drafted Chapter 4: Preview

Up to 25,000 words, still writing. Until then, an extended preview.

Pinwheel Universe: Original Timeline, August 2008

Staten Island, New York City

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him-and I didn’t know how potent that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Rogue rolled her eyes as she looked up from her book, sighing heavily as she glanced around her darkened bedroom. The sun had set and the room was humid, and she was only in a tank top and underwear, lying on top of the bedspread. It was always hot in the attic and she kept the ceiling fan on constantly, not only because it had been such an unbearably hot summer, but also because the residential feline, Zues, was scared of ceiling fans when they were off. An odd quirk about the cat she was beginning to truly adore. Rogue yawned for a moment, before moving to turn on the bedside table lamp. As soon as she did, she noticed a set of green eyes staring at her from the foot of the bed, and Rogue smiled at the intruder. Zeus had made his faithful nightly appearance, rubbing his head momentarily against the side of her foot, demanding attention.

“I really don’t get what the fuss is all about,” she said out loud to the cat, gesturing to Twilight, which she had closed in frustration and plopped on the bedside table. She’d purchased the book at the Borders in Penn station as a recommendation from her coworker Carmen-oh, trust me, Marie! You. Will. Love. It!-- to read on the long rides home on the Staten Island Ferry, and so far she was unimpressed. Falling desperately in love with a hundred year old vampire. Ridiculous, Rogue thought, while she pet the black cat with the white belly, who arched his back and purred at her touch.

Zeus was technically Mrs. Mable’s cat, the woman whose attic she was currently renting. The house was a cozy bungalow, which had regrettably seen better days, settled in the heart of Staten Island. Still though, the house had good bones, which Rogue appreciated. It reminded her of the old homes on her street where she grew up, down to the antique hardware and floral wallpaper.

Just like her feline companion, Mrs. Mable had taken a liking to Rogue, mostly because Rogue paid rent on time and helped her take out the trash and would often listen to the woman’s stories of the city in the 1940’s when the woman worked for Western Union, even though Rogue had failed to tell the woman she was vastly undercharging for rent, being this was New York City. Rogue was only paying $200 a month, although that was about all she could afford from what she was making at the desk job she was currently temping at in the city. It was a long, expensive trek to work each day, and she had bought the book to get her mind off of the fact that, one afternoon, she’d glanced out the dirty window of the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty in the distance, and a cold shadow of a feeling had gripped her heart.

Suddenly, in a rare moment of conversation, the cat meowed, bringing her out of her thoughts, and Rogue smiled.

“What do you think, Zeus? Team Edward or Team Jacob?” she asked playfully as she continued to scratch the cat behind the ears, savoring the feeling of the soft fur, the body  underneath that.

She’d touched many things in the last year. She’d shaken hands and held open doors and hailed taxis, all without gloves. She’d gone dancing with Carmen. She’d kissed boys and girls while drunk. She’d hugged people. She’d casually touched them. She’d made out with some, gone to second and third base with a couple of others. She’d flirted and smiled and laughed. It had been everything she had imagined it to be, she had quickly realized. The only part she missed, of course though, was the company. She had been surprised with how long Logan’s presence stuck around in her mind after the torch, but from the day she had the injection onward, they all had disappeared, and for the first time in a long time her head was simply...empty. Voiceless. Still. At times, it was still disconcerting. Rogue alone in this tiny bedroom apartment with the seventies avocado-green kitchen and the bubbling wallpaper and the hallway that smelled like cat litter, but it wasn’t Westchester, and that was enough.

Rogue frowned at the thought. It took two days after she’d come back from taking the cure. Bobby had kissed her, and the look on his face told her he regretted it. Perhaps she’d known it from the beginning, how he’d react, but it was everyone else who made it hurt worse. Jubilee was fake around her, Kitty stopped speaking to her. She had even remembered Logan barely acknowledging her, walking around with a dead look in his eye, although Rogue assumed that was more from the events that had transpired in San Francisco than anything else.

After the funeral, she had gone to bed exhausted, and sad. And, when she had woken up the next day, she knew he was gone. Not Bobby, but Logan. No goodbyes this time. No dog tags to be handed off. She knew he had one foot out the door already, but...she would have thought he’d at least warn her. Say goodbye. And she knew, this time, he was gone for good.

It wasn’t long after that, she left too. She couldn’t face them, couldn’t face it. But, of course, away from the shelter of Xavier's, she had no money. It was rough, in the beginning. She’d been beyond lucky to find the posting of Mrs. Mable’s room, and she thanked the world for small favors. Slowly, as spring became summer, she found steady work, and steady friends, and her fears eased. She stopped seeing herself as the other, and, instead, the same as. And that was also enough.

--

The next morning, she frowned slightly at the book, but decided against her best judgement to take Edward and Bella with her on the ferry. She rolled her eyes through most of it, and by the time she got to the office, she dreaded talking to Carmen about whether or not Bella had made the right decision to stick with the vampire. Luckily, however, they were busy today, so Marie forced a smile on her face, tucked in her cheaply made button down shirt into her black slacks, fixed her headset in her ear, and pretended not to be tired as she answered the phone for HR at the pharmaceutical company in midtown she worked for.

“So are you coming out on Friday or not?” Carmen said after a particularly long phone call, before downing half a bottle of Evian. Rogue shared a cubicle with Carmen, a desk on either side of the eight by eight space. Carmen was a beautiful woman of Italian descent with a thick Long Island accent who had immediately taken a liking to Rogue when she first arrived there. Carmen had helped Rogue learn the ropes, and Rogue knew Carmen found Rogue ”exotic” because of her southern accent, and was always trying to set up Rogue because of it. Carmen was also always drinking water and chewing gum between calls. “To get the bad taste out of my mouth when I deny another claim,” she explained one day to Rogue early on.

“I don’t know. I’m kinda tired this week. It’s been a long one,” Rogue said about the weekend, cracking her knuckles as she glanced at the time. 3:22pm. Ugh. Time didn’t move fast enough inside a cubicle.

“Well, you should come out because I have a date,” Carmen said, a spark in her eye. Rogue laughed out loud at this, shaking her head.

“Why would I wanna come with you on your date, hun?” she asked, and Carmen rolled her eyes.

“It’s not a date date. I’m...checking him out. Meeting him and his friend for coffee. I could use a wing woman. Rosalie from payroll is setting me up with him. He’s her cousin, or something” Carmen said, and then, looking around the cluster of cubics and leaning in a little bit over her desk she dramatically, “I guess the word is he’s a mutant.”

Rogue almost spit out the gatorade she had been drinking, but managed to swallow and feign...surprise? Funny thing was, other than the rising anti-government sentiment, most humans out in the real world didn’t think twice about mutants, not their plight, their struggle to be accepted, none of it. Marie had been shocked to find this out, but, after some time, she had come to realize it was always this way with a group of people who had privilege over another- the privileged group never thought it was that big of a deal and it couldn’t be that bad for them. Anyway, this news was surprising coming from Carmen, because she usually liked the blonde, athletic, cookie cutter type.

“That so?” Rogue finally asked.

“Yeah. Apparently...he has a tail,” she said, winking.

“Why does that matter?” Rogue blurted out, before she could stop herself, but then Carmen was grinning.

“Girl, use your imagination. Think of the sex,” she grinned, and Rogue must have made a face because Carmen was frowning.

“Didn't take you for a speciesist, lady,” Carmen said through a pop of her gum.

“I’m not-” Rogue sighed, but then Carmen threw up a finger, spit her gum out, and raised her eyebrows. Rogue frowned, but then turned to see their boss walking down the hall toward them. Mr. Henry MacIntire, Vice President of Human Resources,  was a studious looking man, fairly young for his position--Rogue guess early thirties at most--always dressed nicely, with a pair of tortoise shell glasses settled on his nose that Rogue found herself taking a liking to. He was polished, poised, a gentleman, she thought upon meeting him. Unlike Nancy who was in charge of the Admin assistants, he was never gruff with the underlings, never condescending or patronizing, and he always checked in on all the HR staff from time to time, but especially Rogue. To the point where Carmen had suggested maybe their boss had a thing for her, which Rogue had immediately shrugged off.

“Hello ladies,” he greeted them, stopping for a moment to hover outside their cubicle.

“Hello Mr. MacIntire,” Carmen smiled her brilliantly white smile, and Rogue simply nodded at him.

“Busy day today, yeah?” he said, directly addressing Rogue.

“Uh, yeah,” she muttered, through a quiet smile. “You too?” she asked and he grinned.

“The worst,” he said, his blue eyes dancing behind his glasses, and she found herself a little lost for words as he focused on her.

“Oh, Marie,” he finally added, extending a file folder her way. “ Do you mind sticking around a little later today? I need you to make some calls. We need to extend invitations to the additional names listed here for the web seminar on Friday, sort of last-minute. I hate to put this on you, but I trust you to get it right,” he said through an honest smile, and when Rogue found herself taking the file folder, she noticed their fingers just momentarily brushed, and a surge of adrenaline coursed through her. Of course, he was completely fine, hadn’t even likely noticed it had happened.  

“Of-of course, Mr. MacIntire,” she finally said, and, again, he smiled at her and pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Thank you, Marie. You’re the best,” he replied, and then, just before he was about to walk down the hall, he stopped, turned on his heel, and added, “Remember what I told you both. Call me Henry,” he smiled.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Henry,” Rogue murmured, and then he was nodding and Rouge watched as  he walked off to his office down the hall. She smiled a bit, and when Rogue turned back to Carmen, the other woman was grinning devilishly at her.

“What?” Marie asked defensively.

“Nooottthhinnngg,” Carmen said, before holding up her finger as her phone began to ring. Rogue frowned a little, before turning back to the manilla folder. She opened it up to look at the list of names, mostly other HR heads of other pharmtech companies, only to notice there was a post-it note on bottom of the piece of paper with a note scrawled in Henry’s handwriting.

I really do need to thank you for doing this. I know it’s annoying to ask you to stay late. Maybe wanna grab a drink with me sometime so I can make it up to you? My treat. - H

Rouge’s smile widened as she quickly closed the manila envelope, grinning like an idiot now, just as her own phone began to ring again. But even the ringing telephone, even the bad novel on her desk, even the long ferry ride she’d have home tonight, sailing alongside the memories of her past, memories of him, couldn’t shake her current mood, as she set down the folder and put her headset back on, answering a little more cheerfully than normal with her rehearsed response.

“Transigen Incorporated, Human Resources Division. My name is Marie. How may I help you?”

[livesbeneath]

six feet between.

pairing: noah x female mc (harley blanco)

summary: to be caught trespassing in a cemetery is bad enough without a preceding criminal record. he knows visiting westchester is risky, and that being out in the open isn’t the smartest idea, but he finds it somewhat therapeutic, maybe in a sickening way, to occasionally come full circle after his stops at the ruins. 

word count: 1.9k.

author’s note: after around a two(?) month hiatus of sorts?? i have written something i don’t actually HATE???  i had this idea last night at three am after playing a chapter of ilitw, and wrote a large portion of it then, so i apologize if it’s a little hard to follow!  i’m proud of how it turned out, especially when considering the way the noah / mc relationship ends as in ilb. all forms of feedback are appreciated! please try to leave a comment if you can!

disclaimer: i do not own these characters (except harley). creative liberty has been taken to make this story unique, and i do not intend to use it for profit in any way.

The oldest headstone in the Westchester Peace Cemetery dates back to the 1700s, specifically 1768. It honors a woman named Eliza Rosemund, who was thirty eight at the time of her death. The quote etched on her tomb is worn, but reads something like: “beloved mother and daughter, go gently.”. There is a noticeably large chunk missing from the top of the grave.

Noah Marshall has been by this plot so many times that he can rattle all this information with ease. A run of the mill bystander would think it was Ms. Rosemund he was visiting so often, but anyone who knows him would know that this isn’t the case.

That is, if they had mind that he was there at all.

As he makes his way over the fence, something he’s mastered by now, Noah takes note of the way fog seems confined only to the burial grounds. He shakes his head and plants his feet firm on the dirt below, then crouching down behind a headstone. Precautions are always taken to make sure he’s alone at times like this. Carefully, he turns back to inspect the way he came, relieved to see only the woods that normally guard him from the public eye staring back. To be caught trespassing in a cemetery is bad enough without a preceding criminal record. He knows visiting Westchester is risky, and that being out in the open isn’t the smartest idea, but he finds it somewhat therapeutic, maybe in a sickening way, to occasionally come full circle after his stops at the ruins.

Beyond Eliza Rosemund’s grave, still along the same path, but in the more modern part of the cemetery - sits the headstone of Harley Blanco.

Once he’s sure he’s alone, Noah hoists himself up, allowing himself to drift into the fog. Maybe at a young age, he would be afraid of trudging through a sea of tombs in the middle of the night. While the thought of countless dead, dusty, decomposed or decomposing bodies below his feet is still slightly unnerving, he is aware that he is currently the most terrible thing on the premises. Guilt is the reason he’s here at all. Guilt, and longing, one could say.

With Harley’s very being split in two, her body in one place, her soul in another - he thinks it only fair to honor all of her instead of a mere part of her. He knows nothing will ever make up for missing her funeral, but he figures he’s carried anguish similar to those who attended. If not similar, the fact that what he’s done eats him alive and spits him back out every night is enough to warrant a visit.

“Shoot!” he whispers briskly as he nearly trips over a twig, grip on the homemade present he’s brought nearly slipping out of his grasp.

While in the woods earlier, he stalled leaving the spiritual Harley behind by peeling moss patches off of logs. Now, along with a bundle of dandelions he picked from outside the gate, he’s used them to make a makeshift bouquet. The fact that they’re just weeds makes the weight of the offering even heavier in his fist. He knows she deserves something nicer, especially from him. There’s no doubt in her mind that her grave is pre-decorated, though. He’s deduced that her parents must visit often, because there’s always a replenished gaggle of gifts waiting at the base of the headstone whenever he arrives.

Her parents, he thinks. God, they must fucking hate him.

His footfalls grow slower, heavier as he approaches some of the newer plots. The more recent dates that decorate the slabs crowded around the area remind him that it hasn’t been that long since that fateful night in the grotto. Being on the run makes each day blur together, which means by the time he’s stepped back to give himself a reality check, months have passed. It’s been a year and a half, but Noah swears she’s been gone for an eternity.

He’s no stranger to this feeling, of course, as he’s been professionally trained in mind-numbing grief since Jane’s demise a decade or so prior. Still, he realizes now that there was some hope back then. Compared to how things are now, his sitting alone every day at school seems overwhelmingly trivial. Still, being acquainted with grief does not make the moment he sits down before her grave any easier. Each time he does so, the slap in the face that is the fact that she��s actually dead leaves a searing mark. He isn’t an openly affectionate person, but not having her strong arm to lean on, both physically and metaphorically, is something he’ll never get used to.

Harley Blanco’s headstone in the Westchester Peace Cemetery commemorates her death back in 2017, specifically October of that year. She was eighteen at the time of her death. The quote etched on her tomb is intricately done, and clearly reads: “beloved daughter and friend, we are together always, even in death.”. His offering of a bundle of dandelions pales in comparison to the fresh roses left by her parents.

As much as he wants a cigarette in that moment, Noah knows lighting one is a surefire way to be caught. The air around him has grown colder since planting himself six feet above Harley’s coffin. The feeling that he’s being watched from somewhere, by someone, gnaws at his stomach, and he peers around his peripheral vision, careful not to move his head. With the newly plunged temperature, everything around him seems to freeze. All until-

“Noah…?”

He jumps, whirling around so fast he almost cracks an elbow on the headstone near him. Noah doesn’t know what he expects to see, exactly. Maybe it’s his mother, and she’s known of his escapades back and forth to Westchester for some time now. Maybe it’s Stacy Green, and she’s finally tracked him down, hell-bent on making him pay. While his mind could create hypotheticals until sunrise, what he actually sees surprises him much more.

There, flanked by ornate gravestones, half fog and half shadow, is a pair of glowing blue eyes.

“Harley?” he breathes, splayed out like a spider before her. “Wh-What are you doing here? Did you follow me?”

As if playing a game, Harley moves with the mist hanging heavy in the air, curling around him and cheering “Found you! I win!”

Noah sits in her visceral grasp for a moment, glancing in disbelief between what’s left of Harley, and the slab of stone that marks her supposed final resting place. The feeling that she’s been beside him all along, traveling in his shadow to this spot, sinks in. Finally, he sighs.

“Harley, you can’t do this anymore. I’m gonna take you back to the ruins, okay?”

“Nooooooo…” she drawls, a tinge of orange in her eyes. “Stay with Noah!”

Slight dread pools in his stomach as he finds himself unable to stand, her lock on him too tight. The hardest part of every visit with Harley is leaving her at the end of the night. Noah is all too familiar with the fiery pain that sits in the embers of what are now her eyes. She’s gotten articulate enough over their course of their lessons to voice that she’s afraid that when he leaves, he won’t come back for her. While he’s thrilled she’s learning to feel again, he wishes he hadn’t taught her such distress.

He narrows his eyes, frowning. “Let me stand, Harley. You win.”

“I win!” the spectre cheers, twirling into the air, tail of shadow whipping past his face. Noah stands. As he dusts himself off, he takes a deep breath, attempting to look through the thick fog for unwelcome guests.

“Ssssshhh!” he hisses, finger to his lips. “You can’t be loud here!”

“Ssssshhh!” she parrots, mimicking his movements until they’re eye to eye. He notices hers are burning blue again.

A sigh. “That’s right, Harles. Nice and quiet. It’s time to get you home.”

The monster lowers her clawed hand, eyes wide, boring into his. For a moment, his blood runs cold. Noah watches as she slowly gazes away from him, off into the distance. Gradually, she floats away from him, higher than he can reach, staring out towards the exit of the cemetery. Not towards the woods, but towards town.

“Home…” she whispers. Wind carries her words to him, but the trees don’t move.

“Harley…” he realizes his mistake.

She turns to him again, eyes orange, wide as saucers. “Go home.” she states.

“No, not - not there. I meant back to the ruins. That’s your home now.”

“Nooooooo… not home! Not home! Not home!”

The wind begins to pick up, but it seems to touch him and nothing else. His jacket isn’t enough to shield him from the way the temperature drops. Harley’s eyes blaze as she grows more frantic, zipping from tombstone to tombstone, moaning the same two words over and over again. Noah holds a hand out to her, but finds himself using it to steady himself when the vortex she’s created amidst her panic threatens to knock him to the ground.

He watches in horror as the frantic ghoul grabs a headstone and pulls it from the ground, tossing it like a softball to the side. It hits the stone walkway with a sickening crunch. She makes her way to the next slab in line, repeating the process with ease.

“Harley! Harley, stop!” he shouts, holding his beanie to his head.

“Home!” she cries in return. “Want to go home!”

“We have to get out of here! Stop that! Stop it!”

Noah hits the ground as she prepares to swing again, scrambling up against the headstone dedicated to her. Harley rounds on him, desperate, but stops short when she sees his hand held out. He presses himself up against the headstone, breathing heavily. She stares, seemingly past him, back in the same trance from before.

“You’re okay, girl.” he assures her. “You’re okay.”

When she doesn’t respond, he moves to the side slightly, and she glides closer to the headstone. Noah lets out a deep breath, watching her eyes move as she scans the inscriptions on the stone. Carefully, as if touching it will burn her, Harley holds out a clawed hand to the marker.

“Harley…” she breathes.

Noah stays silent, head hung in remorse.

The monster coils back slightly, the hand that touched the stone now held over where her heart should be.

“I… Harley.” she looks to Noah and cocks her head to the side. “I Harley?”

“Yeah.” he mutters in response. “You are.”

Silence hangs between them. For a moment, he lets his reservations about being caught fade away. Harley sinks to the floor, sitting beside him as if she has legs to cross. The fact that her two forms, corporeal and spiritual, are only six feet between each other is not lost on him. It makes him nauseous to see. They were so close.

She mirrors him once again, this time looking desperately sad as she gazes from him, to the headstone. Noah watches as she reaches out to the flowers littering the base of the grave, and expects her to pick up the roses.

In a clawed hand, she presents him the dandelions.

“For me?”

He stares. The weeds look so small in her monstrous hand.

“Yeah.”

Harley looks down at the offering once more. Her eyes burn a subtle blue.

“For my cave.” she tells him.

Noah looks up at her, confused. “What?”

“For my cave.” she replies. Her free hand reaches out to him and hovers over his chest. “To… feel like home.”

He presses her claw to where his heart is.

“Let’s get out of here, yeah?”

[thecomicsnexus]

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #196-200 SEPTEMBER 1979 - JANUARY 1980 BY MARV WOLFMAN, STAN LEE, AL MILGROM, JIM MOONEY, FRANK GIACOIA, BOB SHAREN, KEITH POLLARD, BEN SEAN, SAL BUSCEMA, GLYNIS WEIN AND GEORGE ROUSSOS

SYNOPSIS (FROM MARVEL DATABASE)

Peter Parker has received a telegram from the Restwell Retirement home informing him that his Aunt May had passed away. Racing there as Spider-Man and changing back into Peter, Parker confronts the administrator Dr. Reinhardt thinking it is all a mistake. Peter's heart sinks when he finds out there was no mistake at all when Reinhardt shows Peter a casket with a seemingly dead Aunt May inside. Leaving and walking the streets of New York, Peter thinks back to all the tragedy that has struck his loved ones, and how many have died since he became Spider-Man.

Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, the increasingly irrational J. Jonah Jameson listens to a story about how Spider-Man ignored a mugger and intends to print it. Fed up with Jonah's constant biased journalism about Spider-Man, he quits his job at the Bugle and walks out on a shocked Jonah. In Westchester, the secret new employer of Boris Korpse and Bruno Grainger demands that the two use their skills to bring Spider-Man to him.

The next day at Empire State University, Peter is confronted by Flash, Sha-Shan and Harry Osborn about his current attitudes. Peter tells them that his Aunt May just died and then goes to tell Debra Whitman to excuse him from classes. After a brief visit with Anna Watson of Aunt May's body, Peter finds it suspicious that Dr. Reinhardt sets off his Spider-Sense.

Later, Peter goes to the docks to reflect on things and is surprised to find Joe Robertson there as well. Joe tells Peter about his own personal grief and how his first born son had died as a young boy, and how he learned to move on with his life by remembering the good times. Peter takes this advice to heart, and decides to go check out his old home in Forest Hills where he grew up under the care of Aunt May and Uncle Ben. To his horror he finds that the entire home had been trashed from the inside like someone was looking for something. Furious, Spider-Man finally puts together where he heard the name Reindhardt before and realizes that the man is one of his old foes.

Changing into Spider-Man, Peter tries to make it to the Restwell Funeral home, however he is captured and subdued by Kropse and Boris and taken to their employer: The Kingpin.

The Kingpin tells Spider-Man how he survived his plunge into the river after their previous battle. Spider-Man did not find him in the murky water, because the Kingpin swam to a drainage pipe, hauled himself out of the water, and collapsed. When he awoke and crawled out of the pipe to the surface, his memory was gone.

For months he wandered the streets not knowing who he was, but then Sllvermane learned what had happened to him. Silvermane sent a hired killer to try to run him down with a car. But when the car slammed head-on into the Kingpin, his muscular, bulky frame survived the impact. The assassin died in the collision.

Hospitalized for many more months, the Kingpin regained his memory, and a mere 18 hours ago he returned home to his beloved wife, Vanessa. When he told her his plan to gain revenge on Silvermane, she told him he had 24 hours to finish his criminal career or she would leave him. After divesting himself of his criminal empire, he found he had six hours left. He intends to use those six hours to finally get rid of Spider-Man.

Spider-Man suddenly leaps from the floor and slams into the master criminal. He lands several blows before the Kingpin pulls the rug out from under him. Spider-Man is hampered considerably by his broken arm, but he still manages to hold his own. The combatants pummel each other and smash one another into walls as the battle drifts into the Kingpin's private gym. The Kingpin tries to strike Spider-Man with a barbell weighing several hundred pounds, but Spider-Man easily evades the barbell and smashes the Kingpin into a shelf of gym equipment. Then he bounds out of the gym.

Meanwhile, at the Restwell Nursing Home, Ludwig Rinehart tells the burglar that Peter Parker will not be bothering them again. Now, continues Rinehart, the burglar can tell him what he was looking for in the Parker house. The burglar replies that since he plans soon to dispose of Rinehart, he will tell him. But Rinehart has plans of his own for the burglar.

Momentarily stunned after being smashed into the shelf, the Kingpin comes to before Spider-Man can find an exit from the mansion. The Kingpin pushes a button to electrify the ceiling Spider-Man is clinging to, and when Spider-Man drops to the floor, the Kingpin overtakes him and presses his attack.

At the same time, at the Daily Bugle, the door to J. Jonah Jameson's office opens and Joe Robertson strides out, briefcase in hand, wearing his hat and coat. Jameson appears totally dejected as his city editor bids him farewell. He has chased Robertson away for good, he says to himself, just as he had lost his wife, his son, and everyone else close to him. He has built a wall around himself, he continues, and he cannot bring himself to tear it down.

The Kingpin pursues Spider-Man through his mansion. Spider-Man hides in a room, and then he finds an electrified lance that is disguised as a pole lamp. Suddenly attacking the Kingpin with it, he briefly knocks him unconscious. But before Spider-Man can leave the room, the Kingpin starts to shoot at him with his obliterator cane. Spider-Man snatches the cane with his webbing and the combatants pummel each other, exchanging blow after blow.

At last, the Kingpin has Spider-Man by the throat. Groggy from the punishment, Spider-Man manages, with his webbing, to pull a shelf down onto the Kingpin's head. Then the master criminal throws the shelf at Spider-Man, breaking a hole in the floor. Spider-Man exits through it. Spider-Man finds himself in the basement of the mansion, but before he can discover a way out, the relentless master criminal is hot on his trail. Spider-Man hides in the darkness, but the Kingpin slams a support beam with all his might, which collapses part of the building onto Spider-Man and leaves him helpless. The pain from his broken arm renders Spider-Man unable to move. The Kingpin declares himself the winner of their battle and drags Spider-Man upstairs. As the Kingpin gloats, Spider-Man tries to gather what remains of his strength. The Kingpin aims his obliterator cane directly at Spider-Man, who desperately tries to keep the Kingpin boasting to give himself time to recover. Suddenly, the clock strikes twelve, and Vanessa enters. The Kingpin tells her that he needs just a moment more, but she tells him that he must decide now between continuing his life of crime or leaving it forever and starting a new life with her.

After an agonized minute, the Kingpin decides that he loves his wife more than he enjoys his success at crime and more than he hates Spider-Man. He puts his arms around her, and they walk together out of the room, leaving Spider-Man on the floor, defeated.

Spider-Man has just been senselessly beaten by the Kingpin, who has left Spider-Man to his fate, having given up his life of crime for his wife Vanessa. The police find Spider-Man and bring him to a hospital, where a doctor treats him and makes sure that nobody unmasks the wall-crawler.

While at the Restwell Retirement home, Dr. Reinhardt reveals himself as the original Mysterio and reveals to the Burglar that he faked his own death to operate in more subtle fraudulent ways, and that his role as administrator of Restwell allowed him to swindle the elderly that he cared for out of their valuables. Hoping to get this treasure the Burglar has been trying to find, Mystery turns his illusion casting powers on the man, knocking him out and tying him up in the boiler room of the retirement home.

While back at the hospital, Spider-Man revives and leaves in spite of the doctor's orders to stay and get more treatment for his now-broken arm he speeds off for the Restwell Retirement Home, and soon finds himself victim to Mysterio's illusions which now appear more elaborate than ever. While at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson has become even more irrational. When Marla Madison tries to talk sense into Jonah. Jameson then enters the boardroom where an investors meeting is happening. When the other shareholders of the Bugle question Jameson's recent decisions as editor, Jameson loses his temper and his fury causes a total nervous breakdown and he faints to the floor.

Back at the Restwell Retirement Home, Spider-Man finally tackles Mysterio one-on-one, however, he finds that his foe's new hypnosis based illusions and is easily knocked out by his longtime foe. Reviving, Spider-Man has found that Mysterio has chained him to the bottom of the facilities wading pool. Mysterio then begins to fill the pool with water, gloating over how his old nemesis will helplessly drown.

Spider-Man has uncovered Mysterio's operation running out of the same nursing home where his Aunt May had supposedly died. After a battle against his old foe, Spider-Man is left to drown in a massive in-ground pool. Leaving Spider-Man to his fate, Mysterio then ventures to the basement of the Restwell facility where he has a man tied up. This man is the same Burglar who shot Uncle Ben years earlier and sought to learn of some secret treasure that was hidden in the old Parker house from Aunt May. Mysterio informs the Burglar that he no longer needs him to learn the secret and leaves him tied up in the basement. The Burglar swears that when he gets free, he will find the illusionist and kill him. Looking around the room, he spots a mirror close enough to kick and begins dragging a broken piece close enough so he can cut loose his bonds.

Meanwhile, the pool appears to be filled with water, but Spider-Man has bought himself some time by spinning an air bubble around his head. However, no matter how hard he strains to break free, he cannot bust the chains that keep him locked down. Soon, the web sack bursts and Spider-Man is about to give up all hope of escape when he spies a drain plug not far from him. Using his web shooter and all of his strength, he manages to pull the plug, draining the pool and saving himself from drowning. After resting for a moment, the wall-crawler realizes that he is completely dry and realizes that he fell for another one of Mysterio's illusions. With the illusion shattered, Spider-Man breaks free from his bonds and rushes away to get some rest. After sleeping for a full day, Peter wakes up in his apartment feeling refreshed. The sleep was all he needed for his enhanced healing to fix his broken arm and so he breaks the cast on his right arm.

Preparing himself a meal, Peter is suddenly intruded upon by his friends Flash Thompson, Sha Shan, Harry Osborn and Liz Allan. Realizing that he is still wearing part of his costume and the rest out in the open, Peter has to be incredibly sneaky to hide them from plain view. They have come to express their condolences for Peter over the loss of his Aunt, as well as find out why he snapped at Betty Brant. Peter tells them that he only did it to try and get her and her husband, Ned Leeds, to sort out their marital problems. Liz informs him that Betty has moved in with Liz until she sorts out what she wants to do with her marriage. With everyone caught up to date, Peter ushers them out, telling them that he needs time alone to process everything that has happened recently. With his friends gone, Peter changes back into Spider-Man and heads for his Aunt May's old home, the only clue he has to find out what Mysterio was trying to uncover.

Arriving in Forest Hills, Spider-Man searches the house again but finds nothing. It's then that he is attacked by Mysterio and his illusions once more. Spider-Man fights off these illusions, forcing Mysterio to flee back to the Restwell Nursing Home with Spider-Man in hot pursuit. When, Spider-Man comes crashing in, he is shot with a powerful tranquilizer that Mysterio believes is strong enough to kill Spider-Man. The wall-crawler still tries to stop his foe even though his strength is ebbing. Despite his best efforts, Spider-Man eventually slumps to the floor, leading Mysterio to believe that his old foe is finally dead.

Spider-Man has been injected with a large dose of anti-depressants and left to die by Mysterio. Spider-Man survives the injection however it has left him without his spider-powers. In spite of this, Spider-Man is determined to learn why Mysterio rigged his Aunt May's death and returns home, once more lamenting his lot in life since becoming the Amazing Spider-Man. Unknown to Spidey, the Burglar who shot his Uncle Ben manages to free himself in from the boiler room in the Restwell Retirement home and decides that maybe May Parker's nephew will know the secret of the hidden loot.

Meanwhile, Peter has begun trying to track down who it was that rented and trashed his Aunt May's old home in Forrest Hills. After meeting with Anna Watson and the rental company that rented out his aunts home, Peter is shocked to learn that it was rented by the man who shot and killed his Uncle Ben. Returning to his apartment and changing back into Spider-Man, Peter vows to track the Burglar down and stop him once and for all, considering even killing the man responsible for his uncle's death.

Peter decides to do some more research on the man who killed Uncle Ben when he finds a lead to follow by checking the Daily Globe's morgue files, he decides to check the video archives of a television station that ran news stories about the case. When Peter Parker is denied admittance because he has no appointment, he risks his life climbing a web-line into the building as Spider-Man despite the fact that he has no spider-powers. Inside, he finds the tape he is looking for and reviews it. On his way out he hears a commotion and sees a security guard chasing a man. Unlike the first time he found himself in such a situation, Peter stops the man being chased and realizes that ironically enough the security guard he just helped was the same man who he refused to help all those years ago when he first became Spider-Man.

After Peter returns to his apartment to find that Burglar is there waiting for him, Peter instantly pounces on the man and the two are locked in a brutal fight. During the scuffle, the Burglar drops his gun, but recovers it in the struggle and strikes Peter on the head with its butt, knocking him out. When Peter revives, he finds himself in the very warehouse that the Burglar holed up after he shot Uncle Ben. The Burglar then starts grilling Peter about hidden loot and explains that Aunt May's house used to be owned by a Prohibition-era crime boss named Dutch Mallone. He explains that Mallone -- among other criminal enterprises -- had a successful bootlegging operation during the 30's until he was busted by Elliot Ness for tax evasion. It was being incarcerated with Mallone that the Burglar learned that he had a large sum of money stashed in the home that would eventually be bought and owned by Ben and May Parker. He explains that's why he went to the Parker home that fateful night. When Peter refuses to tell the Burglar anything because he killed Aunt May, the crook reveals that anything that happened to his dear aunt was all the doings of Mysterio. Getting a moment of inspiration, the Burglar decides to leave Peter to do one last thing and will come back to kill Parker later.

The whole time trying to break free, Peter finally manages to bust loose and decides to go after the Burglar not as Peter Parker, but as Spider-Man. Secretly following the Burglar, Spider-Man is led right back to the Restwell Retirement home. When the Burglar goes into the basement, Spider-Man attempts to confront him there and is shot and left for dead. The Burglar returns to the warehouse shortly thereafter to shock Peter Parker by showing him his Aunt May alive and well. Apparently, Mysterio had faked her death to get Mallone's loot for himself and the Burglar would hope that threatening Parker's aunt in front of him would loosen the boy's tongue.

Realizing Peter isn't there, the Burglar is shocked when Spider-Man -- only winged by the bullets and is alive and well -- is waiting there for him. Spidey attacks the Burglar head-on attacking him with an unbridled fury. When Spider-Man proves to be too much for the Burglar to handle, he tries to flee. However, Spider-Man continues to chase after him, using his spider-signal to intimidate and further strike fear into the Burglar. When Spider-Man finally has him cornered, the frightened Burglar suffers a heart attack and dies of fright. Spider-Man then sets off a fire alarm to get the authorities to show up and convinces Aunt May that he came to her rescue for her nephew Peter.

Later, with Aunt May once more in the hospital, Peter goes to visit her and she tells her nephew that she no longer thinks of Spider-Man as a menace. She also ends up solving the mystery of what happened to Mallone's loot: When she and Ben had first moved into the home and did renovations they found a box inside one of the walls. Inside they found the remains of Mallone's money all right, however, it had long since been destroyed by silverfish. Later, after the anti-depressants that Mysterio injected him with have been flushed out of his system, Peter changes into Spider-Man and finds that his powers have returned to full strength and decides that after this whole experience he will continue being Spider-Man.

REVIEW

I’ll be blunt... this story is too complicated, and sometimes too convenient. However...

The character moments are spot on and in the end, everything that happens is true to the character and his world.

Issue 200 in particular is the best one. The Kingpin fight was just too long (and inconsequential, as he would soon appear in Daredevil). The Mysterio thing went nowhere. But the burglar story is the one that counts.

The moment Peter took off his mask, I realized the burglar was going to die (I am not sure how obvious this would have been in 1979, but by now, we all know that whenever an antagonist discovers the hero’s secret identity, he has to die, unless that antagonist is Kinpin).

And I think the finest moment in this story is when all is over and Peter asks for the “treasure box”. Sure, it would have been nice if all of a sudden, May and Peter become rich. But that wouldn’t be the May and Peter we know, they are hard working middle class people, that manage to move on with love, no matter what life has in store for them.

So as usual with anniversary issues, we got a retelling of Spidey’s origin and re-evaluated his principles and motivations. This time, however, it was really effective.

The art gets pretty good on issue 200 as well. With the Kinpin issues being the less interesting ones (couldn’t engage much with the action).

I give this story a score of 7