Barbie Perkins-Cooper, Author

Tag: bridges

  • Weight Watchers…WW WHERE ARE YOU???

    Weight Watchers…WW WHERE ARE YOU???


    Dearest Readers:

    I suppose now is a good time for me to write in my blog about Weight Watchers…WW…or whatever else they change their brand to. I’m hopeful they’ll go back to “Weight Watchers.” It worked better. I suppose today is the day I am becoming a bitch, after all, there are two B’s in my name!

    I’ve been quarantined since December 23, 2019. The day I broke my back. I couldn’t attend “studios” — as they call it, due to the inability to move much. Before breaking my back, TWO DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, I finally tipped the scales with a 40-pound loss! I was ecstatic! Oh. So. Proud. Of. Myself! I managed to return to the workshops in early February or March – before the quarantine took effect. I really have missed Weight Watchers!

    Now, I truly feel abandoned with Weight Watchers/WW!

    In March, just when Corona Virus hit Charleston, SC, I received an email stating the studio would be closed for a while due to the virus. Believe me, this tourist trap of Charleston, South Carolina, became a city crippled. Suddenly shopping centers were empty—no parked cars. Highways were easy to travel in. No traffic congestion, just like it was in the early 1970s before everyone decided to move to the Holy City. Suddenly, Charleston and the low country was a ghost town!

    Today, I phoned WW to inquire when our workshops would begin in Charleston. The party I spoke with placed me on hold and I waited impatiently for the answer. When she returned, I wasn’t pleased when she said: “There are no scheduled opening dates for the Charleston area. You could attend a workshop in Savannah.”

    Savannah, Georgia has a workshop, but Charleston, the city famous for hospitality doesn’t have a workshop. Now, what do I do? Zoom doesn’t work easily in my rural area. I feel abandoned! Oh. My goodness, I’ve been abandoned by Weight Watchers!

    I haven’t decided what to do. Still, I track my intake. Sometimes, I get weak, and that is when the temptations begin. I so need to be strong again. According to the doctor’s scales on my last check-up on the tenth of November, I’ve only gained one pound. Three months ago, that wasn’t a fact. My life is a roller coaster now, and Weight Watchers could be the blame; nevertheless, I am the one who opens her mouth and eats things I shouldn’t. I must be accountable. It isn’t fair for me to blame Weight Watchers!

    Where will this saga with Weight Watchers/WW…or whatever they plan to change lead me to? Who knows. Every December they change things, but those changes are shared in meetings. Hell. They don’t even send us a print out of weekly readers. I can go online and print them. For now, I’m simply tossing my money to them. They’ve abandoned the Holy City of Charleston, SC.

    I can’t give up. If I choose to give up, I am giving up on myself. I must be strong. After all, I am a woman who doesn’t like to lose. Losing weight and looking good, I love, and I must do it. This, too, shall pass! After all, this I do for ME!

    I AM WOMAN. HEAR. ME. ROAR!

    All of my life, I’ve loved bridges. Bridges have always given me strength and guidance. Sometimes I feel I have a bridge to God because He is always there to listen to me. Now that we’ve moved to the country, I sit on the bench by my serenity oasis and speak with God. He is always there. I must continue reaching out to my bridges.

  • Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge Is Still Closed…


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    Dearest Readers:

    How are you enjoying these incredible winter storms? I find it interesting that the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia is having temperatures in the high 60’s while the USA is freezing in many locations, including the mild climate of Charleston, SC. Early Wednesday morning at 4:00am, our signature, landmark bridge, Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge was closed due to the inclement weather — ice on the bridge. Today, it is Thursday, my Weight Watchers meeting day and the bridge is still closed; in fact, according to Governor Nikki Haley, it is the only bridge in South Carolina that is still closed.

    What is the problem? Why can’t this bridge be opened. SIMPLE! The bridge has two diamond-shaped twin towers with approximately 128 cable stays. On the cables ice is falling onto the bridge. Would you want your car to be at risk due to unguided missiles falling from the cables? I think not. Two weeks ago we experienced this ice situation. Engineers and the SCDOT decided to open the bridge because if and when the cable stays thaw out, the ice will fall away from the roadbed. NOT!

    After the bridge opened, the ice thawed, dropping onto several cars. Some of the windshields exploded. One woman reportedly suffered an eye injury when shattered glass fell into her eye. Thank God no one was killed! I can only imagine the lawsuits that will occur.

    And so, we the residents of Charleston, SC await to hear the bridge has opened again. Many people are furious about the situation. Well, I’ve said it for years, and I will continue to say it here and in public — the antiquated city of Charleston, SC needs to build more bridges. We are having an amazing growth spell in Charleston now, but with growth we need more roads and that just isn’t happening.

    According to news alerts I receive, the bridge is still closed at this moment, due to the ice falling from the cable stays.

    I have lived in Charleston for many, many years. I haven’t seen many new roads built, and I doubt they ever will, but we definitely need more bridges. The only way out of Mt. Pleasant into Charleston is thru the I-526 highways, or if you take the back roads, you can travel on Highway 41. Just make certain you have plenty of gas because it is a long way to travel, just to get to your destination. Or, if you are in a hurry — just face the reality of the situation…You are in Charleston, SC — where things move at a slower pace. Yes, I love the city and the beauty, but we really do need to modernize and build more roads.

    Somehow I doubt it will happen. People here are still fighting over the cruise ships in the harbor. So, fellow residents if you are looking for a way to cross the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge — just stay home, or take the Charleston Water Taxi, http://www.charlestonwatertaxi.com/

    You will not be disappointed. The view from the water taxi is spectacular!