Fate and the repetition of history
There is a saying that is sometimes said of a person who seems suffer bad luck at every turn in life, or that which can also apply to someone who is extremely malevolent. It is said that such a person is “born under a bad sign”. This references astrology where adherents to the belief find great importance in how the stars and planets are aligned, especially when someone is born. Such alignments are said by believers to have influence on one’s life. Personally I do not share that belief, although once in a while I might read the horoscope for my sign in a newspaper or magazine if I’m really bored. Generally, the notion of being born during a particularly negative celestial alignment is only applied to people. Although astrology also has been applied to animals as well, like pets.
But what of something that isn’t alive – and never was? What about things that are created, not by nature but by humans? In other words, can something be “built under a bad sign”? In my spare time I have been going over the history of the monster of the Tampa Bay, much of which is found on that website I mentioned. Actually there are/were two monsters, the first of which was partially destroyed in 1980. That one came into being in the early 1950’s. Its twin was built in the early 70’s, and that is the one that collapsed. The second monster was erected in the mid 1980’s, and then both of the earlier twin spans were demolished. As said, I don’t believe in astrology. But for anyone who does, it would likely be hard to pinpoint specific dates on which to draw up a chart for non-living things. Perhaps the best that could be achieved would be the day that said entity is completed and first pressed into service. That date for the second monster is April the 30th, 1987. But what about when ground is broken, or when production is started?
I think that stars and planets have nothing to do with people’s lives, their pets, or anything that is man-made. But I do believe that for various other reasons, there are indeed some things that are ill-fated and seemingly unlucky. A prime example is the Titanic and its sinking. That is perhaps why so many find much fascination in that tragic historical event, and why it has become such a huge part of pop culture. The Titanic wasn’t the only ocean liner to ever have sunk, but it was the only one whose builder proclaimed it as “unsinkable”. And there ever after, to make such a boastful claim is seen as a way to really tempt fate. But that claim was only one of many factors that led to the disaster. The Titanic could have been said to have been built “wrong”; but then again, its construction was limited by the technology of the time. Also, there was really no malfeasance involved that contributed to the disaster; only many poor decisions.
The first monster of the Tampa Bay, the original version of the Sunshine Skyway, suffered from the same sorts of issues. No one could imagine that a ship might take down a large portion of one of the twin spans. This is also eerily similar to the Key Bridge disaster. Apparently some people did consider that possibility, but, like the lifeboat situation on the Titanic, no one did anything about it – on the original Skyway or the Key Bridge. Clearly mistakes were made and problems were overlooked on the original spans. The reaction to the Skyway disaster was the creation of the second version of the Tampa Bay monster which was completed a few years later, in 1987. Unlike its predecessor, this current iteration was built to repel or deflect any potential ship strike. And unlike the Titanic, apparently no one ever proclaimed that it was totally incapable of being destroyed. To my knowledge it has never been billed as a bridge that will never collapse. But there was still a huge mistake made with the second bridge, that which no one seemed to notice. A mistake that any culpable parties failed to see and for which they will never be held accountable. From what I have been reading thus far, the second Skyway was indeed built “wrong”. Not in a structural sense, but rather that which I have long suspected, which is its design and appearance.
When the second bridge was being designed, the governor of Florida at the time decided that he liked the look and style of certain bridges in Europe. He got the bridge contractor to work with a designer who had designed a bridge in France to create the new Skyway. But what happened was not unlike the story told in the 1950’s horror film “The Fly” (and told again in the 1980’s remake). In that movie a scientist is trying to invent and then perfect teleportation. This would allow him to instantly transport himself (or anyone or thing) from one location to another. Such ideas are common in science fiction, but if teleportation could ever be made feasible (especially for living things) it would have to be done perfectly. The original material would have to be disassembled and then reconfigured exactly as it was, otherwise things would go awry. A copy that isn’t quite right can go very wrong, as the scientist found out when a housefly slipped unseen into his teleportation chamber. Instead of coming out exactly as he went in, when he reappeared in the receiving chamber, both he and the fly had their bodies scrambled together into two separate entities. The scientist (and the fly, as can be seen at the end of the movie) were transformed into hideous monsters. The governor of Florida also presumably had noble intentions, just like that fictional scientist. They both wanted to bring something good into the world to benefit humankind, but, as they say, the road (or perhaps the bridge) to Hell is paved with good intentions. While “The Fly” presented a character who became a ghastly and tragic amalgam between insect and human, the Skyway Bridge is a ghastly creation inspired by a famous bridge in France. The source material (the French bridge, known as the Brontonne Bridge) is eerily similar looking to the Skyway, but it is smaller as it crosses a river rather than a large bay. Essentially the Skyway became the evil twin, the bastardized copy of the European original. And whatever it was that went so totally wrong transformed the Skyway into an irresistible lure for those who want to end it all. In nature there are animals (and a few plants) that have, over millions of years, evolved to present the perfect lure to ensnare their prey. Be it an odor, a visual cue or even a sound, these predators offer their victims that which is very hard to resist and so very desirable. I think that is the explanation, in a nutshell, as to the mystery of the Skway deathtrap. Its designers unwittingly created the perfect lure for those seeking a way out of life. The previous Skyway did draw those sorts of people, but no where near to the degree that the extant version has. The only such lure that has come closer to lethal perfection is the Golden Gate Bridge. And the builders of the Skyway actually did make a Titanic-like proclamation, not by boasting of the integrity of the Skyway but by likening it to the Golden Gate Bridge! Yes, fate was tempted, and she responded in a most deadly and horrifying way. In essence, a monster was created in the Tampa Bay and unleashed upon the area on April the 30th, 1987. If there ever was an instruction manual on how to design and build a structure that would be most efficient at luring and then enabling the dispatch of those who seek to die, it would surely have to include the Golden Gate and Sunshine Skyway bridges.