I almost never pay cash (simply because I rarely have enough cash on me to pay for whatever I’m buying). But I’ve not needed to sign my name for any purchase other than an automobile in the past 20 years. I have the same book of checks I got when I opened my bank account 19 years ago.
However, among other things, getting a driving license, opening a bank account, filing your tax returns, and anything requiring a contract (which includes getting a job), all require a signature.
I had a similar exit strategy when I worked at Holiday Inn. The server crashed. Once the new drive was installed (no thanks to the IBM tech, who didn’t even know how to configure it), I had to restore the most recent backup, then manually enter all of the daily business for the past day and a half. At that point, my regular shift for the next day had already started, so I ended up working 39 hours straight. At the end of my shift, I said “a beautiful bunch of ripe bananas… I’ll tell you where to stick ‘em, and me wan’ go home.”
I have collected lamps for 40 years. I probably have around 100 of them. Still use them during a power outage, too.