When I arrived in Birmingham, I checked into my hotel. Jetlagged.

“Good morning. I have a reservation. My name is Brooks,” I say confidently.

She responds, “Welcome. Okay. Thank you. Is that Brooks with an A?”

“Ahh. Umm. No. Errr. Just Brooks,” I awkwardly responded.

“Hmm. Okay. Well. Here, I think this is you,” she says.

I checked in. Four hours later, I realize that “A” is an “E” in Birmingham. As in, is that Brooks or Brookes?

And with that, I became the ugly American.

Thankfully I’m not this bad. Image courtesy of Google.

We all make mistakes. Right?