And so, off to Norkapp. After all the planning was done, Amalie and the boy would load Shiny Clipper with untold quantities of food, clothing, and plenty of coffee and sugar and all the other rationed goodies of the time. Amalie would then “hoppa pa” Gump on) with index and middle fingers of one hand straddling the fuselage. Shiny Clipper would roll down the aproned runway with a fierce roar of power, and away they would fly through storm, rain and night until, finally, they would dive down toward Amalie’s lap and make a perfect landing on Norkapp. And they always avoided the Tysk soldaten (German soldiers) who occupied the place.
It was always snowing, with the wind howling and the North Atlantic crashing angrily at the base of the cliffs far below. Amalie would jump off Shiny Clipper and call out, “Hallo! Hvor er de? Vi komme fra Sommer og Sol med mat, kaffe, kj0t og alle god!” (Hello! Where are you? We come from Summer and Sun with food, coffee, meat and other good things!) Our actors were Amalie’s index and middle fingers walking about on her lap. She would walk to Kristie’s little house and pound loudly at the door. Fierce challenges and threats would issue from within. After identity was established, Kristie would open the door and come running out (Amalie’s other hand) to meet us, calling to the other ladies to come and get their share.
Of course, the German soldiers would eventually tumble to the fact that something strange was happening. All that new clothing and food could not help but be noticed, and the smell of fresh coffee seemed to make them suspicious. A soldier would come marching up (on very stiff fingers), asking questions and making demands as to where it all came from. And the ladies would always tell them to mind their own business. Kristie and a soldier would argue with each other; Kristie would finally lose all patience and summarily kick the soldier out of her house (with a strong index finger) and over the cliff. Karie would accept her share, but on her way home a soldier would confiscate it and Kristie would have to come running to the rescue. Another soldier over the cliff. Goldie would always be hiding from the soldiers and almost miss getting anything at all. Kristie would have to search all over the Cape until at last she would be found. Sure enough, she too would be waylaid, and yet another soldier would tumble from sight, given impetus by a strong kick from Kristie.
These adventures were undoubtedly Amalie’s personal “Resistance” effort for her native land. Shiny Clipper was always well hidden from the soldiers. (After having visited North Cape’s treeless and barren surface twice over the years, I now realize that this was no small feat.) And I, too, was invisible to the actors. Like a George Bernard Shaw on high, I choreographed the general direction of the events, and Amalie was my faithful cast that fleshed it out in detail. She threw herself into the roles with gusto, creating each lady’s personality and voice, with always a stem, commanding voice for Kristie which, in the heat of battle with the German soldiers, literally growled with anger. The soldiers were always arrogant and officious at first, but quickly became quivering and helpless under the wrath of the emboldened ladies.
