Last week at work, my cow-orkers and I were talking about superstitions. One said, “It’s good luck to see a white owl, especially in the daytime.” I said, “Come with me to the cigar store and I’ll show you a White Owl!” They seemed to find it funny.
Today I was at the cigar store with Mr. Rilch. I told this to the proprietor, and he gave the I-guess-that-was-a-joke forced smile. I chalked his lack of enthusiasm up to the fact that English is not his first language. Later, I repeated it to Mr. Rilch.
“Uh…Is that one of your Straight Dope jokes?”
“No, I made it up.”
“Well, what do white owls have to do with cigars?”
“White Owl is a brand of cigar.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Well, I have!”
“Is it some cheap, pieces and stems cigar?”
“Well, I never smoked one, but the point is, there’s a brand of cigar called White Owl.”
“I have never heard of White Owl cigars.” (So they don’t exist.)
And so on. Now I just checked Google*, and one can purchase a box of 50 for $25.99. So they’re not primo, but they do exist.
No real question here, just think it’s funny that I’ve heard of White Owls and he never has.
*Check out Google before they change their logo again. The logo is stars-and-stripes, with firework bursts above, and a smiling American Bald Eagle sits atop the last two letters, holding a sparkler.