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 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. 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. 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.