my @Events;
while(1)
{
  my %event = ();
  eval
  {
    %event = SECRET_PACKAGE_NAME::WaitForEvent($timeout);
  };
  if($@)
  {
    # timeout occurred, serial burst complete
    last;
  }
  else
  {
    push (@Events, \%event);
  }
}# end while
...
while(@Events)
{
   # Get the first event, NOT the last one
   my $EventRef = shift(@Events);
}

# $EventRef points to garbage