In connection with this evening's theme "You Can't Have a Light, Without a Dark to Stick It in", Siva cited a story which he read on the internet about the construction of a bridge in US.
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.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. 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. In a separate incident, 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.
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.
Word of the Day
Blessing, Blessed - by 1st time Language Evaluator, Yeo Poh Lian.
Induction Ceremony for New Members
The induction ceremony was conducted by Vice President for Membership, Tan Kay Teck. Edmund, Gogi and Angeline were inducted.
Table Topics
1) CNY Traditions observed - Angeline Lee (ITE TMC)
2) CNY Traditions worth preserving - Edmund Chew (ITE TMC)
3) Chingay Parade - K S Teo (Raffles Town TMC)
4) Crimes being committed since opening of Casino - Joel (1st time guest)
5) Is investing a form of gambling - Chionh (1st time guest)
6) Wider differentiation of fees between SC, PR & foreigners by post-secondary educational institutions - Ong Chee Aik (1st time guest)
Prepared Speeches
1) P1 - Angeline shared with us her hobby of reading books
2) P2 - Parwinder shared with us about his perspective of death
3) P9 - Beng Kee shared with us on the game of pickleball and persuaded us to pick it up too.
4) P6 - Kay Chuan shared with us "Life is Great".
Language Evaluation
Yeo Poh Lian did a fantastic job for her 1st time appointment as Language Evaluator.
General Evaluation
K S Teo, in addition to his Project Evaluator role, gave the General Evaluation.
Ribbons Presentation
1) Best Table Topics - K S Teo (Raffles Town TMC)
2) Best Prepared Speech - Parwinder Singh (ITE TMC)
3) Best Evaluator - K S Teo (Raffles Town TMC)
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