How You Say....

For the longest time (and I mean, like, up until last year), I never knew whether the "Barre" in Wilkes-Barre was pronounced like berry or like bear or like bar. So I used to, when I had to say Wilkes-Barre, say "Wilkes-Buh" and then let my voice trail off, or cough and cover my mouth, or turn my head. That way no one would ever know if I had said Berry or Bear or Bar. I mean, once you hear Wilkes, you know what the other person is saying. So I was able to get away with my ignorance forever.

But now I know.