Andrew (Andy) Pagana

I know… sounds strange, right? But it’s not. It’s true. The Aztecs and Mayan considered the owl a symbol of death and DESTRUCTION. And look what happened to them. In Kenya they are harbingers of bad luck, ill heath and death. Even Henry David Thoreau summarized how evil Owls are in ‘Walden’ (1854) “I fear that there are owls. Let us stop their idiocy and maniacal harming of men. They make sounds only suited to swamps and the twilight of Hell… they represent the dark twilight and villianous thoughts which all (women) have”.

In fact, I am so convinced of this evilness of owls that I actually researched it. Yes… spent precious time from  my life looking up things on the interweb (very complicated… they should develop a better system) because I knew I would not be the only one who would know this ‘owl truth’. And, in fact, the first place I checked confirmed it. 

In ‘Charlie’s book of Dream Symbols and Meanings’ it says “throughout the ages the owl has been associated with death and SPIRITUAL DARKNESS”. Let me repeat that… “spiritual darkness”. Oh, and DEATH!!! 

That’s enough for me. Okay, maybe not enough. I’m compelled to look elswhere… this is starting to become fun… don’t move. I mean it. This is important.

Okay. Im back. Check this out. “In China, a very smart people I might add, the owl is considered EVIL. See , I knew it. In fact, they say if you look into the eyes of an Owl you will get disease by the next day.

Damn Owls. They should all be destroyed. If I wasn’t such a strong individual I am sure they would have destroyed me. They certainly have tried. It is only now, this date, that I am able to start ridding myself of the poison and disease and curses the owls have cursed me with.

Now, I grew up thinking Owls were pretty cool and smart, like the owl in the tootsie roll commercial (selfish prick now that I think about it) or the one in Winnie the Pooh. What was his name? Owlly the Owl? Yet I should’ve known the truth when ‘Hoots the Owl’ became a regular on ‘Sesame Street’ and single handedly set a chain reaction for the utter destruction that that show. (Don’t get me started on Sesame Street)

Andyway, the first evil owl instance that I can remember, which is recorded in one of my many volumes of handwritten journals, takes place on July 19th 2006. A day now that I will never forget. Keep that in mind folks… JULY 19TH 2006. I want to know what the else happened on that day. I know it’s the 200th day of the year. There are 165 days left of the year.(159 shopping days till Christmas). But I am sure this is not random… it’s as if that date inherently contains some sort of ultimate good vs. evil significance, as if it were the temporal junction point for the entire space/time/good/evil continuum.

It was just after 11:00 pm. (Eastern time). I was driving home from filming at a friend’s house when all of a sudden a huge bird soared from the dark trees and landed smack dead center of the road. I also was driving smack dab in the center of the road. (I like room when I drive). So I had to stop short, and I probably stopped about a foot away from the damn bird. (Why didn’t I just keep going?)

It was a giant white owl. Giant! And at the time emotions ran through me the likes I never felt before. From my journal: “It slowly turned to me and stared at me with it’s big black eyes. Just pierced me. Looked right through me.” 

I was stunned by it’s beauty (it’s a trick) and the power of its eyes. (Don’t look!! Don’t look!!) I think I stopped breathing. Then it calmly turned it’s head and flew away.

I admit I thought it was awesome.  Truly awesome. But over the years that followed owls stalked me, haunted me, laughed at me, tried to get me. Truly tried to destroy me. 

They were everywhere. Sitting in trees watching me in Simi Valley, plastic ones perched in trees of houses I walked by, ceramic ones in stores I frequented. Eventually they creeped into my drawings and doodles. One ‘real’ owl even followed me on a horse ride through the Hollywood hills last year. Followed me and hooted and howled. 

I even found a brass owl statue in my grandfather’s basement after he passed. Damned brass owl, perched on a shelf, piercing though me. Warning me… it’s coming.

It’s not until now that I realize how they were out to get me. But now I’m aware. And Im way too powerful. Way too strong. I would drop kick an owl if I saw one today. But I thought I needed to warn you. Its my duty to warn the world.

No need to thank me.