WSET.com - ABC13My Funny Vacation Story by Mark Kelly

I just got back from my first weeklong vacation since I came to Lynchburg last year, and I had a wonderful time! I spent a week in Atlantic City, New Jersey. No gambling for me; I just relaxed on the beach, ate a couple really good meals, and took a day trip to New York City. But, let me tell you one of the funniest things that happened while I was there. First, you have to understand something – I'm a little afraid of birds, especially the squawking seagulls at the Jersey Shore.

So, here's the story. I'm walking down to the beach, my 13-year-old brother Neil is walking a few feet in front of me with a cheeseburger he was munching on in his right hand (we just bought the burger from a food stand on the boardwalk because Neil hadn't eaten all day and it was now mid-afternoon.)

In a flash, a single seagull is hovering over Neil's shoulder, staring at his cheeseburger like it's the last piece of food on Earth. Burgers must smell as tasty to seagulls as they do to us humans, because after the one seagull spotted the burger, they all did. In an instant, what felt like 15 birds surrounded Neil, trying to eat his food, squawking as loud as anything as if to say, "Drop it. That food is mine!"

Neil held on to the burger as long as he could. He darted to the right, then to the left – anything to get rid of the birds. But, they aren't like flies on your food; they weren't giving up with a simple swat of the hand.

So, Neil, a little scared and frazzled, surrendered his lunch to the seagulls. It was scary and sad, but most of all funny.

Lesson learned: The next time we got hungry on the beach, we didn't even try to eat outside under the seagulls' watchful eyes. Instead, we sat inside a restaurant – away from the seagulls but still able to watch the hungry birds rob other people of their food. Why? Because it's still sort of funny watching seagulls steal other peoples' lunch.