1776

So there I was at CVS picking up a few small items. Nothing out of the ordinary until the cashier told me the total amount -- seventeen dollars and seventy six cents.

Yep, 1776.

I was a tad stunned -- one of those randomly inexplicable life moments.

"Did you say 1776?" I asked the salesgirl. She looked to be in her twenties, wearing one of those  blue scrubs that the folks in the pharmacy section of the store wear. 

She looked surprised and checked out the register.

"Yes, it's 17 dollars and 76 cents." 

"Wow!" I said. "What are the odds of that number popping up as a sale?"

"What do you mean?" 

"You know, 1776." The girl stood silent as stone. It dawned on me that she might not know anything about the number in terms of its historical reference.

"Do you know what 1776 means?" 

The girl shook her head. "No, I don't. Is it a game of some sort?"

Again, I was stunned. I could not help myself. "Are you an American citizen?" I asked her. Hey, in Miami the likelihood of finding many people from other countries is incredibly high.

She nodded her head. "And you don't know what 1776 is?" At this point the chick looked really confused. I grabbed my small parcel and turned around, making my way towards the door.

"You might want to Google it, sweetheart. It's an important number for all Americans."

I wondered if the girl would bother to look up the number. I wondered where the girl had gone to school -- and how that school had not managed to embed that figure into her head. Let's not even consider how someone lives in the United States for over two decades and has no clue as to the birthday -- birth year actually -- of the land in which he or she lives.

Amen, and pass the mustard.