The Brooklyn Bridge is a bridge in so many metaphorical ways.
In 1883 its construction bridged history with the future of bridge building.
Before this, bridges were built primarily using materials like granite or concrete with a strong compression strength. This bridge was playing a different game. It’s a suspension bridge and uses steel rather than compression. This requires tensile strength. The load carried by the bridge is trying to pull the building material apart rather than crush it.
The Brooklyn Bridge also bridged history with the future by using gothic arches to direct our eyes up towards the heavens while we walk a solid path over the East River.
Bridges are a metaphor for empathy and compromise. After the Civil War, the U.S. needed to express these ideas. The arches of the bridge invoke the architecture of cathedrals and inspire a reverence for mankind’s ability to build a bridges, both in the metaphorically and physically. Here the religious mentalities of previous generations are bridged in a work of fully modern engineering genius and in this way it bridges the Arts and Sciences.
The bridge is not beautiful only for its utility.
The bridge accomplishes the lofty goal of art while making life easier to live. More than a hundred years later it continues to bring busy New Yorkers to contemplate its beauty. In a metaphorical way and a very real way it bridged two distinct cities, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Before the bridge was built, they were two independent cities. The Brooklyn Bridge facilitated the creation of the Greater New York City area in the same way that after the Civil War people stopped referring to the United States as a singular entity. The bridge connected the people of Manhattan and Brooklyn in a meaningful and singular way.
New York City came to mean something larger with this bridge. By connecting the landscapes, the bridge expanded the New York community. John A. Roebling, the German immigrant who designed the bridge, foresaw the artistic spiritual value of this bridge even if he never saw it completed. In his original proposal for the project, he stated its most conspicuous features, the great towers, will serve as landmarks to the adjoining cities and they will be entitled to be ranked as national monuments, as a great work of art, and as a successful specimen of advanced bridge engineering.
This post is based upon an excerpt of the transcript from The Brooklyn Bridge is a Metaphor | AmorSciendi Watch it on YouTube.
Abdiel
The name “Abdiel” means servant of God. Some definitions convey the idea that he is the most zealous for the divine.
Abdiel plays an important supporting role in The Bridge. He is present at all times, but not always seen because he’s sometimes in disguise or he’s monitoring the situation from afar.
He is also a hunter, but he’s not out to destroy his prey. Instead, he works to guide his target away from danger and toward goodness, all without imposition.
And as you can see, he’s quite handsome.
I’ve run into a few Arditi’s in my time as a corporate wrangler. I’ll never forget the day I was introduced to the top exec from another firm at our client site. As we shook hands, he just about crushed it … his way of letting me know I wasn’t welcome. Six months later they were gone and my firm had the contract. Just sayin’. Bullying never pays off.
The Montauk Club
I’ve mentioned at least a hundred times that I write into the dark. Basically, I’m writing without knowledge often finding that I’ve written something of which I have absolutely no idea about or why I’ve written that particular scene. When I started The Bridge, I didn’t know how it was going to fit into the story. Remember, I designed all five of the serial covers long before I started writing the books.
Anyway, during the scene at Eagle Court, Grayson said that he had made arrangements to send the interviewees to a neutral location after each session was completed. I needed a place to send the candidates, so I did a quick search on Google for a social club. The first one that popped up and seemed perfect was The Montauk Club. So I went with it.
Once the story moved to the point where the candidates were being driven to this neutral location, I looked up the address of The Montauk. Of course … it’s in Brooklyn. And they had to get there some how. Hmm.
That’s how things go when writing into the dark. The answers come when I need them.
If you’ve read The Bridge, you know what this image is about. I don’t want to ruin it. However, I’ll tell you one thing. This image was something I found months ago, long before I began writing the book. About 3/4 of the way through The Bridge, I was searching for something on my computer and stumbled upon this image of Michael the arch angel. It was perfect. The sketch was done by an artist by the name of Karina Griffiths.
Karina, if you see this, I sent you an email. Check your inbox!
