Heartbreak of the day

Subbing in a kindergarten today was nice. At one point, a teacher came in and got a bunch of kids to work in small groups outside the room, and the remaining kids were playing at centers. The kids were so cute, playing together nicely. One trio of boys was at the trains, another pair of boys at the Legos, more boys at the erector set, a group of girls at the blocks. The girls played happily for a long time, chatting and making gardens and flowers with their colored blocks.

Suddenly one girl stopped. She looked up at me almost in a panic, her face turning white. One barrette had slipped, and her oversized sweater was hanging down below her knees.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said: "I'm hungry."
"Come here sweetie, tell me what you had for breakfast."
"Gum and nothing else."
Pause
"What was that again?"
"Gum and nothing else."

I took her over and gave her a baggie of goldfish from the teacher's closet.
A few minutes later, she smiled and said "My tummy's full!" And she went back to the blocks.

It was the gum that got me.

Map of worldwide food riots

map of food riots, link to Guardian UK.

Haitians use the expression "grangou klowox" or "eating bleach", to describe the daily hunger pains they face, because of the burning feeling in their stomachs.

From the AP today, Food Costs Rising Fastest in 17 Years
"The U.S. is wrestling with the worst food inflation in 17 years, and analysts expect new data due on Wednesday to show it's getting worse."

This is getting bad people.