Having Achilles first to cross the bridge turned the fable surrounding the original bridge which inspired it on it head and I think showed how the family was able to overcome the flood unleashed by their mom's passing that had for a time washed the family away. The bridge with its two arches that Clay and his Dad built together was symbolic of how they were able to reconcile and bring the family back together. Lastly I think Achilles was related to the symbolism of the bridge. After their Mom had passed away and their Dad had left them the Dunbar Boys felt much the way Achilles felt before they took him in had he been human with human emotions. Before he came to live with the Dunbar Boys Achilles was unwanted and unloved and on the verge of being abandoned, except by his owner who could no longer keep him. I think the choice of a mule also spoke to how the brothers were feeling as a family at the time. This bridge, built in 1974, is unique in th. And of course Clay knew how much Tommy would love Achilles and how much it would remind him of the animals their Mom took him to see at the museum. The Clay Wade Bailey Bridge is a multi-span cantilever bridge spanning the Ohio River at downtown Cincinnati, OH. Clay also knew Achilles would be something to bring the brothers together and something even Rory would begrudgingly love though he might never admit it out loud. I think Clay looked on acquiring Achilles with such relish because he knew how much it would exasperate Rory (who already had a troublesome relationship with the other animals in Tommy's menagerie, especially Hector) and how much his other brothers would enjoy watching the expression on Rory's face when they showed up at the house on Archer Street with a mule (which is one of the more ridiculous animals one could adopt as a pet).

The clay bridge