I recently went to a local restaurant here in Butler. My order came to $8.05. I handed the young clerk a $20 bill. Then quickly dug a nickel out of my pocket.

As I gave her the nickel, I realized she had already punched in my $20 and was at a loss as what to do with the extra 5 cents. As I waited for my $12 change, I could see she was going to give me the wrong change.

She gave me $9.85. When I pointed this out, she went to get help from another employee. A young man arrived, and he also seemed befuddled. Finally I said, you owe me $12, which he gave me.

At first, I silently cursed the teachers and Department of Education for lack of basic math skills. But then, on reflection I realized that at 64, I can barely use a smartphone, let alone program my TV. It seems I can’t properly function with a computer, and our young can't function without one. I guess we need each other.

Gary McKruit, Cabot