Determination And Persistence

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 injured and left with a certain amount of brain
damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even
move.

"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.

Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and
persistence.