Determination and Persistence
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.
.
Written by Stephen on November
16th, 2009
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