the night I won a stuffed giraffe in one of those grabby claw machines

got kicked out of the Waffle House
on University and Alafaya
because of the song Peaches
by The Presidents of the United States of America. 

we had a lot of quarters
and 40 minutes of Peaches
wasn't funny to anyone but us,
after ordering pancakes for the table. 

I told the off-duty cop
it was a song for those who speed
through school zones;
he did not understand the non sequitur. 

on my way out,
I put my last quarter in the grabby claw machine
by the front door,
surprisingly winning a stuffed giraffe. 

I gave it to a gorgeous gal
with long red hair,
wearing a hockey jersey
and eating with her boyfriend.

living by the highway
back then, back when
I pulled an Irish exit
and walked home to grow up.