What a Cash Register Means to Me

When I was a kid, my grandparents who owned a restaurant lived far away, but every summer we would make the journey to visit them. This was always a special time for me as a kid, because I would wake up every morning with my Grandpa so I could watch him make pies. It wasn’t just the smell of the kitchen or sampling the fillings, it was a wake up call about how people had to work hard to make a living. He even put me to work once the restaurant opened. At the end of the counter was a small candy stand he let me run during the day. I thought I was some kind of big shot, but the cash register always made me jump. My grandfather noticed and explained to me the process of how the cash register worked, where the money went and how to make change.

Before I knew it, I was working the cash register like a pro. I was only filling it with change from the candy sales. but I understood the process of how it all worked and that made a real difference in my life. It was one of those old cash registers with the round gold keys and the bell that would ring when it opened. I guess that was a warning that the cash drawer is open now so pay attention. These experiences helped me to understand how commerce worked and how people made a living. All I wanted to do every summer was watch Grandpa makes pies, sell the candy and work the cash register. I spent all the money I made on the pin ball machine but so what. I was learning about how people made a living and it made a big difference in my life.