The following is a work of fiction.

Not Nick Nolte's Diary, Malibu, California
November 4, 2004

Refill

I took Latigo into the valley for breakfast with Scotty G. He loves the Denny's down there. There is no valet parking, but his argument that parallel parking is a simple pleasure of life can occasionally be true. Today it was not, but the morning was rescued by a curious gentleman who, in the course of our meal, cleaned just about every plush animal out of the coin-operated claw machine. Scotty G. made an off-color joke about the gentleman's sex life. I wondered aloud if perhaps there was something in that glass box that he couldn't find in a woman's heart. Yes, Diary, I tried my hand at the game. My claw returned empty, but I learned something I think I can apply to life. I also learned that when the bottom of the cage is visible, it reads: "Vendor refill today."