03/07/2013
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.
