Post by MIRIAM JACOB on Nov 19, 2006 13:21:21 GMT -5
THE BRIDGE
There was once a big turntable bridge,
which spanned a large river.
During most of the day,
the bridge sat with its length
running up and down the river
parallel with the banks,
allowing ships to pass
through freely on both sides of the bridge.
But at certain times each day,
a certain train would come along
and the bridge would be turned sideways
across the river to allow it to cross.
A switchman sat in a small shack
on one side of the river
where he operated the controls
to turn the bridge and
lock it into place
as the train crossed.
One evening as the
switchman was waiting
for the last train of the day to come,
he looked off into the distance
through the dimming twilight
and caught sight of the train's light.
He stepped to the controls
and waited until the train
was to the prescribed distance
at which he was to turn the bridge.
He turned the bridge into position,
but to his horror, he found
the locking control didn't work.
If the bridge was not locked
securely into position,
it would wobble back and forth
at the ends when the train came on it,
causing the train to jump the track
and go crashing into the river.
This would be a passenger train
with many people aboard.
He left the bridge
turned across the river
and hurried across the bridge
to the other side of the river
where there was a lever,
which he could use to
operate the lock manually.
He would have to hold
the lever back firmly
as the train passed.
He could hear the rumble
of the train now,
and took hold of the lever
and leaned backward
to apply his weight to it,
locking the bridge.
He kept applying the pressure
to keep the mechanism locked.
Many lives depended
on this man's strength.
Then, coming across the bridge
from the direction of his control shack
he heard a sound
that made his blood run cold.
"Daddy, where are you?"
His four-year-old son was
crossing the bridge
to look for him.
His first impulse was
to cry out to the child,
"Run! Run!"
But the train was too close;
the tiny legs would never
make it across the bridge in time.
The man almost left the lever
to run and snatch up his son
and carry him to safety,
but he realized he could
not get back to the lever.
Either the people on the train
or his little son must die.
He took just a moment
to make his decision.
The train sped swiftly
and safely on its way,
and no one aboard was
even remotely aware
of the tiny, broken body
thrown mercilessly into the river
by the rushing train.
Nor were they aware of a sobbing man,
still clinging tightly to the locking lever
to whom they owed their very lives.
They didn't see him walking home
more slowly than he had ever walked
to tell his wife the devastating news,
which involved the hardest decision
he ever had to make.
- Author Unknown
There was once a big turntable bridge,
which spanned a large river.
During most of the day,
the bridge sat with its length
running up and down the river
parallel with the banks,
allowing ships to pass
through freely on both sides of the bridge.
But at certain times each day,
a certain train would come along
and the bridge would be turned sideways
across the river to allow it to cross.
A switchman sat in a small shack
on one side of the river
where he operated the controls
to turn the bridge and
lock it into place
as the train crossed.
One evening as the
switchman was waiting
for the last train of the day to come,
he looked off into the distance
through the dimming twilight
and caught sight of the train's light.
He stepped to the controls
and waited until the train
was to the prescribed distance
at which he was to turn the bridge.
He turned the bridge into position,
but to his horror, he found
the locking control didn't work.
If the bridge was not locked
securely into position,
it would wobble back and forth
at the ends when the train came on it,
causing the train to jump the track
and go crashing into the river.
This would be a passenger train
with many people aboard.
He left the bridge
turned across the river
and hurried across the bridge
to the other side of the river
where there was a lever,
which he could use to
operate the lock manually.
He would have to hold
the lever back firmly
as the train passed.
He could hear the rumble
of the train now,
and took hold of the lever
and leaned backward
to apply his weight to it,
locking the bridge.
He kept applying the pressure
to keep the mechanism locked.
Many lives depended
on this man's strength.
Then, coming across the bridge
from the direction of his control shack
he heard a sound
that made his blood run cold.
"Daddy, where are you?"
His four-year-old son was
crossing the bridge
to look for him.
His first impulse was
to cry out to the child,
"Run! Run!"
But the train was too close;
the tiny legs would never
make it across the bridge in time.
The man almost left the lever
to run and snatch up his son
and carry him to safety,
but he realized he could
not get back to the lever.
Either the people on the train
or his little son must die.
He took just a moment
to make his decision.
The train sped swiftly
and safely on its way,
and no one aboard was
even remotely aware
of the tiny, broken body
thrown mercilessly into the river
by the rushing train.
Nor were they aware of a sobbing man,
still clinging tightly to the locking lever
to whom they owed their very lives.
They didn't see him walking home
more slowly than he had ever walked
to tell his wife the devastating news,
which involved the hardest decision
he ever had to make.
- Author Unknown