Today, I am thankful for those who daringly dream to make a connection, even when the stakes are high.
Making a connection is never easy, but sometimes it’s essential.
After the Civil War, and at the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the city of New York was burgeoning as the largest city in the United States. However, NYC was essentially cut off from the rest of the country. Getting into or out of New York from Western towns in New Jersey was no easy feat, as the often treacherous, mile-wide Hudson River separated the two sides. With railroad track being laid across the country, the problem became even more apparent to those living in the region. With no means to connect the bustling metropolis with the rest of the nation, all train passengers and freight traveling eastbound to NYC would deboard a train and gather upon barges and ferries at terminals along the New Jersey cliffs to cross the mighty Hudson. The similar experience for residents of NYC was equally frustrating. The nation faced a veritable conundrum on how to connect NYC with the rest of the country.
Then, someone in 1874 dreamed big, envisioning the birth of the ‘Hudson Tubes.’ A colonel and engineer, Dewitt Clinton Haskin, enlisted the support of a company, Hudson & Manhattan (H&M) Railroad Company, to build a tunnel underneath the bedrock and silt of the Hudson River. The endeavor was no easy feat, and, in fact, the first attempt failed tragically in 1880, after tunneling only 400 yards into the river. The plan remained relatively dormant for another 2 decades before improvements in technology and a new funding source, led by the statesman William Gibbs McAdoo Jr., would help recommence the project in 1900. After 4 additional years of drilling, the 2 sides between midtown New York and Jersey City, New Jersey, were connected, when a hole was opened underneath the river on this day (Mar 11) in 1904. The train became fully operational a few years later. In fact, the 5 tracks laid down in that tunnel are still used today as part of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) authority.
Like the story outlined above, sometimes the connections we make between 2 sides are daring feats of courage. Similarly, on this day (Mar 11) in 1302, a couple of exuberant, young lovers named Romeo Montocchio & Juliet Capalletto were married in Cittadella, Italy, much to the chagrin, opposition, and vocal outcry of their 2 feuding families. They 2 young lovers were destined for unity, but their familial bickering ensued, ultimately resulting in their tragic passing. Upon their deaths, at least according to an English playwright, the two families finally agree to put their differences aside and end the feud. Their endearing legacy as a couple of ‘star-crossed lovers’ and the concept of everlasting love lives on to this day in Shakespeare’s popular rendition of the tale.
I’m grateful for the connections I’ve made in my life. Even the ones that were short-lived hold a special memory in my brain. May you make a connection today that is both memorable and long-lasting.
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