The rebirth of a monster

Now that the summer is just about over, it is expected that very soon (possibly before labor day) an announcement will be made regarding the rebuilding of the Key Bridge. The state will have then chosen a contractor (or contractors) to construct a new bridge to occupy the space of the iron monster that once stood guard over the harbor. Thus we will have the Return of Frankenstein – the first monster failed, but perhaps the second one will do what its creator intends. Or, should I say, the first monster was slain. The original bridge wasn’t a failure at all, and it served the purpose for which it was built for several decades. Until one dark night when it was struck down by an errant cargo ship. But long before that time, it became a hideous monster once some people made use of it to end their lives, and forever after it bore that stain.

The newly constructed bridge, in whatever weird form it might take, will soon become a monster as well. If history is any indication, that is. And just as before, its creator will hide its misdeeds. No monster owner wants it to be known that their concrete and steel creation is a passive but prolific killer. It has been said that word of mouth is the best form of advertising, and the thinking here is that without such testimonials, the “services” provided by such a killer will go unrecognized. But of course, there really is no such secret that can be kept. The townspeople knew something was up at Frankenstein’s castle, even long before the monster began his killing spree. The spooky castle, the strange lights and sounds, the pilfered graves, all were a warning as to the dark and sinister experiments taking place in the dead of night. What was supposedly hidden really wasn’t….

And such will be the case with a huge bridge, like whatever monster will occupy the Baltimore harbor in the future, sitting there in plain sight for all to see. And it will be highly visible by those who seek a way out. It is no secret that some go looking for these sorts of monsters in order to put themselves out of misery. Just like the courteous jumper did when paying a visit to the green metal monster of the Delaware River. It probably won’t be a year before the Key Bridge 2.0 is marked by death. Unless of course the designers make some provision to try and separate the monster from its usual victims. The Bay Bridge’s first span was only open for a few months before someone made a fatal use of it. Same story with the Golden Gate Bridge. That is something that makes me wonder – of those bridges that have dual spans, which one has the most jumpers? Overall, the original eastbound span of the Bay Bridge would take the record as it has existed for over seventy years. It has had more time to accrue victims. But how might they compare from the time the second westbound span was finished? From which of the two spans are people more likely to jump – or attempt to jump? It is said that far more people have jumped off the side of the Golden Gate Bridge that faces the city than the side that faces the bay. But for the steel serpents of the Chesapeake, there is no nearby city to speak of and only the vast expanse of the bay on each side. I’d imagine that the side a jumper chooses would depend on which direction he or she is coming from. Then there is the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The courteous jumper most likely took the plunge from the eastbound original span, as she was a Maryland resident and presumably had come from the west. There is no great city to see from there either, just industrial development on both shores. So direction of travel is likely the determination there. As for the Key Bridge, John’s friend most likely leapt from the Baltimore harbor facing side, as he would have entered onto the westbound side from Dundalk. I’d imagine, given the relatively short length of that bridge and its location, that most of the jumpers made the leap facing the city. It would not have been difficult for a jumper from the west side to cross the bridge and then come back for a return trip across. That is also another aspect – the way the tolls are set up on some of these bridges, some jumpers would pay while others would not. The green monster’s victim would not have paid the toll, as the toll facility is located on the eastern (New Jersey) side. But in some ways she did indeed pay a toll, a very costly one indeed. She paid with her life upon crossing that iron monster. A price she was willing to pay in order to get where she wanted to go.