A tribute to Civil
Engineer, 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, 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 those 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 Roebling were the only one 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 teamwork 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 realized with determination and persistence, no matter what
the odds are.