Hipee and the Cash Register

Hipee was always meant to grow up and become the high powered executive and professional bargain shopper she is today. When she was young there was a toy that totally captured her imagination. It was a pink cash register. It may have been a Tom Thumb as in the picture.

Oh how Hipee loved her pink cash register! She could ring up items on it all day, selling you things, and making (fake) change. She was working on her sales patter and on fostering good interdepartmental relationships even when she was a child. She was always a cheerful cashier and encouraged you to buy more. If your fake money had all been spent, she would open up that pink cash register and give you more.

The oddest thing about her cash register obsession, and it was an obsession, was the noise she made to accompany adding purchases up on the register. It was sort of a low “eerrrrrrrr” that turned into a higher pitched “uhh” at the end. Eerrrrrrrr-uhh. The clicking of the keys on the register wasn’t enough. She had to make the noise too, after every keystroke. “Eerrrrrrrr-uhh.”

“Oh, corn is on sale today!”
“Eerrrrrrrr-uhh.”
“What a nice jar of pickles!”
“Eerrrrrrrr-uhh.”
“And that Truly Scruptious doll is a great deal!”
“Eerrrrrrrr-uhh. Eerrrrrrrr-uhh.”
“Will that be all today, m’am?
“Eerrrrrrrr-uhh, eerrrrrrrr-uhh, eerrrrrrrr-uhh.”
“The total is $215.”
“Thank you and please come again!”

The unspoken part of “please come again” was “immediately” since when Hipee was at her register, she was in her element. She was in the zone. You were required to shop until you drop at Hipee’s store.

I suppose kids make a beeping noise to imitate scanning purchases now. I’m not sure exactly how Hipee’s noise imitated the cash registers found back then. It seems like it was more of an old adding machine noise. That aside, the real burning question in my mind is does Hipee still make her “eerrrrrrrr-uhh” noise now, even if just in her head, when she’s using a calculator, or doing other high powered executive type stuff involving money? “Eerrrrrrrr-uhh.” Does she do it in her head when paying bills? “Eerrrrrrrr-uhh.” Is it lurking at the back of her thoughts when making purchases at a store. “Eerrrrrrrr-uhh.” Or am I the only one haunted by this sound effect? “Eerrrrrrrr-uhh.”