Kill Devil Hills – To the astonishment of locals and town staff alike, a shower head at a beach access has yet to be removed. As July nears the town doesn’t want to jinx it, so we are leaving the access unnamed.
Town maintenance worker, Jason Whidbee, said, “Usually we have to go replace these things every couple days. Some people steal them for their outside showers, others just like the feeling of the solid stream of water so they take the head off and chuck it into the bushes. I have never seen one last this long.” He knocked on the wooden post holding up the shower and smiled.
“Shower heads account for about 10% of our town budget,” said mayor Sharron Knight, “not because they are expensive but because people steal them so regularly. If this keeps up we will have a budget surplus.”
A economist from E.C.U. who is doing research on the local economy pointed to this as a sign that the Outer Banks has officially exited the great recession. “This is a great example of the bifurcation of the housing market in this area. The locals that can afford the rent down here can buy their own shower heads now, and those that are unable to find housing have to rely on these showers for cleaning themselves after sleeping in their car.”
“Give it time,” said Outer Banks old timer Daniel Midget Baum. “It’s just a slow down. Soon they will start disappearing by the hundreds. Sure as the wind turns after the dragonflies show up, the shower heads will be stolen. It is the way of things here. “