Don’t eat the straight ones

If you ask any  UD senior what they’re going to do after graduation, they might not be able to tell you. But if you ask when Senior Night is at Tim’s, they can tell you without a doubt — Wednesdays. 

As the semester was winding down my senior year, my roommates and I were regulars. One Wednesday in mid-March started out pretty normally — $4 local drafts, sticky floors and a basket of Tim’s tots — but ended with me leaving my jacket behind on the back coatrack. 

If you’ve never been to Tim’s, just know the small hooks along the back wall are where coats and jackets of all varieties go to die. I’m pretty sure some have been there since the Reagan administration.

My roommates and I came back on Saturday, and my coat was still hanging right where I had left it. On the way out, I grabbed it and headed home. Back in our living room, I stuck my hands inside the pockets looking for my phone … and immediately pulled them right back out. I felt something. It was too big to be a bug. It was definitely not my phone. 

I tossed it out on the floor with a screech. Staring back at me was a bright red creature with claws — a crawfish.

At this point, several of us are screaming. Was it dead? It’s all curled up into a ball, that means it’s cooked, right? I swear I saw it moving! OK, we think it’s dead. We’re like 90% sure. So, we did the logical thing and threw it out the window. The next morning it had been flattened by a car in the middle of Lawnview. RIP little crawdaddy.

But … where did it come from? There’s no way it crawled into my pocket and died. Our thoughts immediately jumped to … who brought a crawfish to the bar? And put it in my pocket?!

Turns out friends had a seafood boil in the neighborhood that weekend and decided to take a few souvenirs out to Tim’s. No matter how many times I’ve washed my jacket, it still smells like crustacean. 

Illustration by Ron Acklin

“Dayton Diary” is a series of short, personal UD stories: quirky encounters, lighthearted moments or heartwarming snippets. Why not write one yourself and send it (up to 300 words) to magazine@udayton.edu. Put “Dayton Diary” in the subject line.