Lore drop #002
LORE DROP #002: Dill Bill
Boardwalk Epic. Speed 14 / Brine 8 / Altitude: rude.
Dill Bill came out of a gallon jar behind the lemonade stand at the north end of the boardwalk. The jar said "Kosher Spears, Family Size." He was the only spear left.
He was not a strong swimmer. The brine was cold and the lid was tight. For three summers he floated in the dark and listened to the planes fly over the beach with the banner ads.
He decided he would be a plane. Nobody told him pickles can't be planes, because nobody was talking to the jar.
On the Fourth of July, the lemonade stand ran out of ice and somebody opened the jar to cool off a cooler. Dill Bill was out before the lid hit the boards. He has not landed since, except for lunch.
He flies the boardwalk twice a day, at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., about six feet off the boards. The lifeguards set their watches by him. The seagulls have filed eleven complaints with the boardwalk office. The office keeps them in a folder marked "Bill." He has not read them. He cannot read. He is a pickle.
He has a strict policy on the banner planes: he does not race them. He just passes them. Every time.
Once a summer, the lemonade stand puts out a new jar. Dill Bill does one slow, low lap past it and salutes. The spears inside do not salute back. He understands. They haven't decided yet.
Current status: Airborne. Still salty about the gulls. Nothing to report.