This is a real life story of engineer John Roebling building the
Brooklyn Bridge in New York, USA back in 1870. The bridge was completed
in 1883, after 13 years.
In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an
idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long
Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought
that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea.
It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done
before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this
bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart
that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else.
After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son
Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be
built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed
concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be
overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a
wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build
their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a
tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington
was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which
resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.
“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project
should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how
the bridge could be built.
In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still
had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as
sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of
his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.
As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming
through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains
apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an
idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to
make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of
communication with his wife.
He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he
wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of
tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but
the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on
his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the
spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the
triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be
defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and
their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by
half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and
devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the
messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Perhaps
this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that
overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often
when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very
small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn
Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with
determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.
