having fought in Vietnam.He called his parents from San Francisco.
"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a
friend I'd like to bring home with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd loveto meet him."
"There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt
pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an
arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go,and I want him to come live
with us." Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile
and encourage you to succeed They lend an ear, they share a word of
praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.
DETERMINATON
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 beendone
before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of thisbridge.
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 dreamwith someone else. After
muchdiscussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son
Washington, an up and comingengineer, 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 monthsunderway 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 thatthe 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 ableto
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 thelove
and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patientlydecoded 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.
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