Some Accents Are Charming

Dear Ann Landers: As a Bostonian who “talks funny,” I must correct a pronunciation note in your column. We don’t say “core” for car, we say “cah.” We “pahk the cah.” It’s those New Yorkers who call it a “core.”

In a strange way, I’m proud of my Boston accent. It’s distinctive, gives people a good time and is a great conversation piece, and I couldn’t change it if I tried, although I am working on the “Cuber” and “Afriker.” - Mahgaret Pahkuh, Bahston

Dear Mahgaret: Quit working on it. It’s charming. Incidentally, my Midwestern twang labels me immediately, and I am not the least bit sensitive about it.

Dear Ann Landers: Your comment that any carbonated drink will help seasickness was all wet. The only carbonated drink that helps is Coke. It doesn’t even have to be carbonated. Coca-Cola syrup is even better than the bottled drink.

When I was in the Navy and sick as a dog, the other drinks you mentioned would have made me sicker. The corpsman on the ship gave me Coke, and I was back to normal in no time at all. Our family doctor used to prescribe Coke syrup for children with upset stomachs, and it always worked like a charm. - Charlie Magill in Vermont

Dear Charlie: You’ve written a letter that is going to rescue thousands of readers from misery. On behalf of all of them, I say “thank you.”

Dear Ann Landers: Please perform another wonderful service and educate the public on telephone numbers. When a company advertises its phone number with a word replacing part of the numbers, the “O” in the word is NOT the number zero. It is the letter “O,” which is the number 6 on the telephone dial.

I own a small business with an 800 number. I have to pay for each and every call, even the wrong numbers. A company that happens to be in my area has an 800 number very similar to mine. The company uses a word for its phone number that has two “O’s” in the middle. That means its two middle digits are 6’s, but I constantly get its calls because my two middle digits are zeroes. If a company advertises its number as 1-800-555-GOOF, that number should be 1-800-555-4663, not 1-800-555-4003.

I am certain many other companies with 800 or 888 numbers have this problem. Just sign me - Annoyed With Phone Bills in Florida

Dear Annoyed: You’ve done a far better job of explaining the mix-up than I could have done. Thank you.

Dear Ann Landers: May I add my letter to the pile under which you are no doubt buried since you said in your column that Illinois does not renew drivers licenses by mail?

I will be 68 next week, and our dear secretary of state, George Ryan, wrote me a letter complimenting me on my perfect driving record and telling me that I could fill out the enclosed form and renew my license. He also asked me to consider being an organ donor, which I had signed on for a long time ago.

Less than a week later, I had a sticker to attach to my old license granting me a four-year renewal. I will be 72 when the license expires. At the rate I’m going, all my organs will be expired at the same time. Don’t you just love happy endings? - Jean in Chicago

Dear Jean: I do, indeed. The ability to renew by mail is brand-new in Illinois, and this is the first year it has been in effect. You must be between the ages of 22 and 74, however, and not all drivers are eligible. You are one of the lucky ones.