The Tempest Short Story

Today’s story deals with people who are not aware about natural facts, or, which is even worse, are reluctant to accept obvious facts given by nature. In particular, I refer to an incidend which I witnessed during my holidays on Borkum, a little Island that lies a few KM offshore the Dutch coast in the North sea. In my story, the acting persons were members of a familiy who tried, at last unsuccessfully, to protect their rented beach chairs against flooding.

This incident happened because at that day the high tide was about 3 metres above the normal level. Before I come to the incident itself, I would like to explain, why such high tides can happen in the German Bight so easily. The shape of the German Bight, as eastern part of the Atlantic

Coming closer to the “crime scene” I saw that and was honestly surprised:

Hm, when I saw this picture just ahead of me I instantly remembered a comic series called Asterix and Obelix.

This comic is about a little village in the ancient France, whose inhabitants were reluctant to subject to the of will of the Roman emporer. However, in the present case the “inhabitans” of the self shoveld island were reluctant to subject to the force of the nature.

They actually thought they could fight the water, even if they must have recognized that all sunbathers did not put even a dime on them.

Along with the rising water they had to undertake more and more efforts to prevent their “country” from flooding. Accordingly, they shoveled harder and harder even it was clear that it could not end successfully. Though, nobody helped them shoveling, let alone they were given even a mouthful of water. We, the spectators, were simply watching the scene waiting for the moment when the water would spill over.

Even members of the life guards squad came to them, but not for giving support but to give advices of how to construct the “Dyke”