Think for a second and try to remember the last time you were at the register in a store, the cashier told you the total amount they wanted in exchange for whatever you were purchasing, and your next move was to write a check.

Really, think hard.  But don’t hurt yourself.  I understand this will be a really tough task like trying to remember an ex’s cousin’s dog’s name.

I ask because yesterday at the grocery store this happened.  I saw a lane where the only person in line was two bottles of wine from reaching the payment process and swung my cart in there.  To my disbelief, the guy pulled out his checkbook and asked how much he owed.

He wrote quickly, but when he handed over the check and his driver’s license, the entire process proved exactly why we don’t do this anymore.  The cashier typed in what seemed like 40 things into the computer and ran the check through.  There was an error.  A manager was summoned to register 6.  He punched in 60 things and swiped his keytag four times.  They ran the check through again and made it work.

The cashier sent the guy on his way and started scanning my stuff, only to be interrupted by the cashier from register 5.  In his hand, a check.  He needed to know how many times to hit some button to make the check work.

So if you’re scoring at home, it’s been years since I can even recall seeing someone use a check, and yesterday it happened twice in a matter of seconds.

When it came time for me to pay, my credit card transaction went through in what I estimate to be .00000003 seconds.  No special buttons required.

Also, before I got to the checkout process, this happened:

Guy at Harris Teeter sneezes. Woman nearby: “As Seinfeld would say, ‘you’re so good-looking.'”

— Chris Hannas (@cjhannas) December 3, 2015

Pretty special day at the grocery store.