The miracle bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge that spans the river between Manhattan
and Brooklyn is simply an engineering miracle. In 1883, a
creative engineer, John Roebling, was inspired by an idea for this spectacular
bridge project. However, bridge-building experts told him to forget it, it just
was not possible. Roebling convinced his son, Washington, an up-
andcoming engineer, that the bridge could be built. The two of them
conceived the concept of how it could be accomplished, and how to
overcome the obstacles. Somehow they convinced bankers to finance the
project. Now with unharnessed excitement and energy, they hired their crew
and began to build their dream bridge.
The project was only a few months under way when a tragic on-site accident
killed John Roebling and severely injured his son. Washington was severely
brain-damaged, unable to talk or walk. Everyone thought that the project
would have been scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who
understood how the bridge could be built.
Though Washington Roebling was unable to move or talk, his mind was as
sharp as ever. One day, as he lay in his hospital bed, an idea flashed in his
mind as to how to develop a communication code. All he could move was
one finger, so he touched the arm of his wife with that finger. He tapped out
the code to communicate to her what she was to tell the engineers who
continued building the bridge. For 13 years, Washington tapped out his
instructions with one finger until the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge was
finally completed.
- From Brian Cavanaugh's A Fresh Packet of Sower's seeds
Chuyện về cây cầu kỳ vĩ
Cầu Brooklyn bắc ngang con sông nằm giữa vùng
Manhattan và Brooklyn được xem là phép lạ của ngành xây
dựng. Vào năm 1883, một kỹ sư giàu óc sáng tạo tên là John Roebling, cảm
thấy hứng thú với ý tưởng sẽ xây cây cầu ngoạn mục này. Tuy nhiên, các
chuyên gia cầu đường bảo ông hãy quên ý tưởng đó đi vì đó là một dự án bất
