Owls I Love: A List

Disney owls of note

1. Archimedes
As seen pictured [right], Disney owls of note include A.A Milne's very own "Owl" of Winnie the Pooh fame, Professor Owl (a school teacher from two classic cartoons Melody and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom), Big Mama the owl (from The Fox and the Hound), the "hoo" owl from Sleeping Beauty that Aurora famously dresses up as Prince Charming.
But PEOPLE: there is a number one owl in my heart. No list of favo(u)rite owls could begin, or be complete without Archimedes (brilliantly voiced by Junius Matthews )-- Merlin's grumpy owl who bears the name of the famous mathematician in Disney's 1963 animated film The Sword and The Stone based on the story of the same name by T. H. White chronicling the educational adventures of the wizard Merlin, and a young boy named Arthur and how he became King of Camelot.

Oh Archimedes, how you huff and fluff and puff. And how we love you when you laugh to the point of near death.You are my favo(u)rite owl of them all, and that, my wise old peevish friend, is saying something...

2. The "Lovely" Owls
Particularly the massage owl...'Nuff said.


3. Hedwig
Harry Potter's snowy companion, how could we ever leave Hedwig, with her very own theme song, off this list?
Hagrid bought Hedwig as a birthday present for Harry when they went to Diagon Alley together. Harry decided on her name after finding it in A History of Magic. Before attending his first year at Hogwarts, Harry routinely stayed in his bedroom with Hedwig, away from the Dursleys, since she was the only living creature in the house that did not hate him. Throughout her life, Hedwig provided Harry with mail service, as well as loyal companionship. Hedwig often showed Harry her affection by gently nibbling his ears and fingers, and seemed fully capable of understanding his wishes (as she faithfully followed Harry's orders to peck Ron and Hermione until they responded to him).


4. My Owl Barn - a blog. Check it out. I could go broke on this blog. Thank goodness for discipline.

5. The Tootsie Pop Owl

A kid approaches Mr. Owl and casually inquires,
     "Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?"
     "Let's see, one, two, three..." then he crunches into it and eats the whole things, handing the stick back to the kid, "THREE."

Dear Tootsie Pop Owl,
You are not helpful. You are, in fact, snarky. Plus, you stole the kid's Tootsie Pop just to sarcastically prove a point. But Sir? That was good work. Your sarcasm, on this particular occasion was welcome because the kid's question was a little bit frivolous and though his latent curiosity was adorable in it's naivete, you appear to be wearing a scholar's hat which would indicate that you have far more important questions of the Universe to contemplate. Good luck with that.

Love, Al

PS) 249. The answer is roughly 249. 

6. Night Owls
Circadian rhythms are a very real thing, people, a very real thing.

Anne Fadiman, Hunter S. Thompson, James Joyce, Elvis Presley and Robert Louis Stevenson who famously said 'there is a romance about all those who are abroad in the black hours...' Night owls. Like me. Like 1 out of every 7 people.


The End.