Someone said,
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even when there is no river.
There is a river where the RM180-million 1,220-metre bridge is constructed. However, to commission the usage of a bridge on the day when the Council Negeri is dissolved is something political. Or to say, to gain political mileage. Sarawak goes to polls on May 20. DUN dissolved to pave way for ninth state election. Nomination to beheld on May 9.
The Chief Minister has described it as a "development bridge".
Yes, it's political. But to me, this bridge connects me to the small town where I spent my teenage years. Two weeks ago when I drove there I was still using the ferry to cross the river! It means better connection with old friends now!
My connection with bridge started from my primary school days. I remember the story of two goats, one black, the other white, meets on a bridge. It is a narrow bridge. None of the goats wants to give way to the other. So, the rhyme (in Chinese) goes like this –
You don't give way (ni bu rang)
I don't give way (wu bu rang)
We shall starve to death on the bridge (da jia er si zai qiao shan)
The story taught me to give way for the good of all concerned. This is a bridge of wisdom.
Then, I learnt to sing this little rhyme while buidling the bridge with hands and caught the Fair Lady –
London Bridge is falling down, falling down.London Bridge is falling down, My Fair Lady.
This bridge taught me to play fair. This is a bridge of understanding.
I grew a little older and loved Chinese poems so much and fell in love with this Chinese poem, Saying Good-bye to Cam-"bridge" again by Xu Zhimo –
Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again
Very quietly I take my leave
As quietly as I came here;
Quietly I wave good-bye
To the rosy clouds in the western sky.
The golden willows by the riverside
Are young brides in the setting sun;
Their reflections on the shimmering waves
Always linger in the depth of my heart.
The floating heart growing in the sludge
Sways leisurely under the water;
In the gentle waves of Cambridge
I would be a water plant!
That pool under the shade of elm trees
Holds not water but the rainbow from the sky;
Shattered to pieces among the duckweeds
Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream?
To seek a dream? Just to pole a boat upstream
To where the green grass is more verdant;
Or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight
And sing aloud in the splendour of starlight.
But I cannot sing aloud
Quietness is my farewell music;
Even summer insects heep silence for me
Silent is Cambridge tonight!
Very quietly I take my leave
As quietly as I came here;
Gently I flick my sleeves
Not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away
原诗：
再别康桥 徐志摩
轻轻的我走了，
正如我轻轻的来；
我轻轻的招手，
作别西天的云彩。
那河畔的金柳
是夕阳中的新娘
波光里的艳影，
在我的心头荡漾。
软泥上的青荇，
油油的在水底招摇；
在康河的柔波里，
我甘心做一条水草
那榆荫下的一潭，
不是清泉，是天上虹
揉碎在浮藻间，
沉淀着彩虹似的梦。
寻梦？
撑一支长篙，
向青草更青处漫溯，
满载一船星辉，
在星辉斑斓里放歌
但我不能放歌，
悄悄是别离的笙箫；
夏虫也为我沉默，
沉默是今晚的康桥！
悄悄的我走了，
正如我悄悄的来；
我挥一挥衣袖，
不带走一片云彩。
This is a "bridge" of romance.
Then, almost at this same time, the BoyNextDoor started playing "Bridge over Troubled Water" on his spinning machine. We were apart by a six-foot tall wall. More than that, we did not communicate because he spoke English, I did not. He spoke Hokkien, I spoke Foochow.
When you’re weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I’m on your side. When times get rough
And friends just can’t be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
When you’re down and out,
When you’re on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I’ll take your part.
When darkness comes
And pain is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Sail on silvergirl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine
If you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
© 1969 Paul Simon
That's the importance of bridge of communication I learnt from Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Then, here is the other connection with The Bridge in my life. I read this story from the internet. Be ready for some tears –
The Bridge
There once was this turnable bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the days, the bridge sat parallel with the tracks, allowing ships to pass freely on both sides. But at certain times each day a train would come along, and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river allowing the trains 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 within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge into position. He turned the bridge, but to his horror, found that the locking control ddidn't work. If the bridge was not locked into position securely, it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it. This would cause the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river.
This train was a passenger train with many people abroad. 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 he could use to operate the lock manually. He could hear the rumble of the train now. He took hold of the levre and leaned backward to apply 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 not make it across the bridge in time. The man almost lifted 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 in time.
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 aware of the tiny, broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the rushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of a sobbing man still clinging tightly to the lever long after the train had passed. They didn't see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked, to tell his wife how he had sacrified her son.
Now if you can comprehend the feelings which went through this man's heart, you can understand the feeling of our Heavenly Father when he sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. How does He feel when we speed along life without giving a thought to what was done for us through His son, Jesus Christ? Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His only Son died?
This is the bridge that connects us to God.
Yan\'s Corner - In Touch 
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