Siggi, our musical prodigy, later studied dance music and played for over 20 years in the successful big band led by Fips Fleischer. With this band he toured half of Europe.
The famous swing orchestra was even allowed to make guest appearances in the FRG as a foreign exchange procurer. Despite the different musical level, Siggi never let the contact to his old band break off. It was always a special experience for the combo members when he played with us from time to time and was rewarded by the audience with special applause for his skillful improvisations.
Siggi and I have remained lifelong friends. Fรคsschen, the chemistry student, earned his doctorate at some point and was delegated to Japan as a Doctor of Chemistry as part of an international research project, after which contact broke off. All the other band members played music successfully until the mid-seventies.
The procurement stress, the rehearsals and the trailer construction had taken their toll on me. It was high time to take care of my study tasks again. With a little luck, I had made it through the fall semester without any damage, but now I was approaching the end of my second year with giant strides.
After that it was Bergfest. At the beginning of April, Marga surprised me with the good news of her second pregnancy. And when I finally returned to gym class after a long break, my teacher told me that he had again placed me as a lifeguard at the Baltic Sea. Now I was in a quandary.
I didn’t want to leave Marga and the boy alone for the whole summer, on the other hand, money was easier to earn as a lifeguard than elsewhere, and the combo was on summer break as usual anyway. Besides, the family could spend nice vacations on the Baltic Sea beach again. The die was cast.
I accepted the offer. By the end of June, all the required exam grades were in my study book. Nothing more stood in the way of the summer season. My hope of meeting the familiar team from the previous year on the island was not fulfilled. All new, unknown people, even the swimming expert was missing.
Without asking me, the mayor appointed me as the longest-serving deputy swimming master. The contract was changed, and I got more money. In return, I was the new boss of five colleagues, three watchtowers, a lifeboat, and was responsible for the safety of vacationers on an abundant kilometer of beach.
That promised a turbulent summer. There were only two people on each tower, which meant that I was always on duty without a day off. And the weather was glorious. For a long time, a powerful high-pressure system provided onshore winds with strong waves. The beach changed daily.
The suction of the surf created sandbanks and, above all, dangerous shoals. The temporary bathing ban imposed when the waves were too high was often ignored by the bathers. Like shepherd dogs, we rushed back and forth on the beach to whistle the all too unteachable out of the water.
In addition, again and again sunburns and cuts caused by mussels. Not a day went by without children getting lost between the beach chairs while playing. Looking for help, with tears in their eyes, the mothers stood in front of the rescue tower, believing that the children had drowned.
With the help of the public address system and attentive vacationers, the frightened little ones always found themselves unharmed after a brief time. After a few minor swimming accidents without grave consequences, an extremely unpleasant incident finally occurred. ๐ฃ๐ธ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ธ๐ท๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ท๐พ๐ฎ๐ญ…
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