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Perhaps the best way to learn about me is the in-depth biography drawn by Joe Norwood. The man is a freakin' genius.

If that fails, try the Oak Leaves interview from issue 25.

I was born in Cincinnati on September 17, 1979, to parents Anita and Harold Dangler. I don't remember much of those first few years, so I'll skip most of them.

Later I moved (with my family, of course) to Naperville, a southwest suburb of Chicago. I also don't remember much of that, except that I liked He-Man and playing with my buds.

Again, later I moved to Kansas City, MO, and watched plenty of Saturday morning cartoons. I'm still hooked. I became fascinated with the outdoors at this time, also, and began to build "forts" out in the woods. Not that they could have stopped an attacking army, but they did the job they were supposed to do. (I'm still not sure what that job is, but it must have been important.) This is where I joined the Boy Scouts.

After living in KC for a while (about 2 years), my family up and moved again! This time we went to the hellhole of all hellholes: Owensboro, KY. During the eight years that I lived there, I was forced to go to school in their public school system, which is about as creative as UK's basketball team. (Ever tried to carry on a conversation with one of them? No? Neither have I, but I'm sure that it would be one of the worst experiences I could ever have. I'm partially a product of that school system, too, so I should know.)

Now don't get me totally wrong; there are some decent people in that state (though most are imported). The Coles, for instance, (import) are a very nice set of people. Not only are they intelligent, but most of them can cook more than biscuits and gravy. The Tanners and the Doggettes are also a great set of people, though I can't tell you off the top of my head if they are imports or not.

Also, this is the place where I met my best bud, Kris Cole. Now, Kris is difficult to describe, but easy to sum up. He's a great friend who knows how to chase women (Unfortunately, he's married now, ladies! But visit his page anyway!), is easy to talk to, and thinks he's God. Too bad that was my title first. See a picture of him and myself at Medieval Times a couple of years ago. We're both a bit. . . Camera shy.

Those who joined us on our adventures included Josh, a great guy full of honour; Chris, the nicest guy I've ever met; Matt, who's changed a lot since I left; and that's about it. There are, of course, people who I haven't mentioned, but this is certainly not because I've forgotten you (unless your name is Spiffy).

After my 8 year sentence was up, my family decided to move back to Naperville. What can I say? My GPA jumped (this was June 6, 1995, that we moved, before my junior year), and I began to work in my classes. Part of this was the direct result of two teachers, Mr. Stan Czaplak (AP US History), and Mr. Mike Dwyer (CP English IV). I also fell in with a group of friends (Aaron, Adam, Bill, Bill, Chris, Jeff, Matt, Meredith, Mike, Tim, & Co.) who knew what they were doing. There were, of course, others that I just don't have the time (nor the memory) to mention, though I wish I did, but I'm sure they know I've not forgotten them. When I promise I won't forget someone, I never do.

I also had my relationships to contend with. Those who broke my heart include, in chronological order: M., M., and K. Those hearts that I've broken (to my knowledge) were as follows: A., J., K., and F. To all of you, I'm very sorry. And to those of you who broke my heart, oh, well. I'll live. And none of them were particularly nasty to my psyche. (Names are written with only first letter to protect them. If you think you are among them, drop me a line, and I'll tell you straight.) All those relationships were in my senior year. I had no other heartbreaks before that.

Now, I applied to several colleges, and I'd just like to take the time to mention each one.

University of Illinois

Bastards. Didn't accept me, didn't even look twice. Why do you think I love watching the Bucks kick orange ass?!?

University of Iowa

Accepted me, and then decided not to look twice at me. We called three times for housing info, and they never sent it. They only offered me money after I declined their offer of admission.

St. John College in Santa Fe

Bastards looked like they had a good program, but they didn't accept me, so I don't care any more.

Carthage College

Wow. That looked quite cold.

University of Illinois at Chicago

Being second choice for their mother school didn't appeal to me, nor did getting shot.

College of Santa Fe

Were it not so far and so small and so expensive, I might have gone there.

The Ohio State University

This is where I eventually went. Good school, good people, and they like me. I'm happy here.

After I graduated high school, I went for an interview downtown Chicago. If you've never been there, you need to go. It's a great city, and there's always someplace new to go and see. If you've ever seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off, then you know what I mean. It was dull as all hell, working in a mailroom for Pitney Bowes Management Services in the law firm Bell, Boyd, and Lloyd. I hated standing all day, sorting mail, but I had to, and for $8 per hour, life was not too horrible.

after taking a month off work, I moved into Columbus, OH and started school here at The Ohio State University. Now I was free (though still not self-supporting). Free is everything that they say: quiet, easy, and poor. You learn to deal with it all, however.

I quickly set to work enjoying this newfound freedom by joining several organisations, or at least showing some interest in them. I joined both political parties on campus, as well as the Fencing Club and the Pagan Student Association(PSA). It was the Fencing Club that was to seal my destiny (in more ways than one).

As I was fencing with the Club one day (I still fenced that most pitiful of weapons, the foil, at that time), the coach took me and a friend aside and asked us if either one of us wanted to join the University's Fencing Team. This was without tryout or anything. My friend had too many classes, so I said okay, and was signed on the next day.

I was one of the few to enjoy practice (at least for a while), and enjoyed learning Sabre. Until the end of Autumn Quarter, I was riding high. Then came competition.

Competition came a bit fast for me, and I'm still struggling with my technique. But I'm getting it under control now, and I really feel like I'm fencing better. We'll find out next season exactly how much, won't we? I posted a 33% last year (or there abouts. . . If you want the real number, visit the OSU Fencing Team page), and I posted a final .589 average. Not bad for my second year, eh? If you're interested, here's a picture of me fencing Ms. Wells at the Remenyik Open at Northwestern.

As I said, it was the Fencing Club that sealed my destiny in more ways than one. If it weren't for them, I'd never have met my current girlfriend, Tina. But it wasn't just the Club that helped seal that fate. It was also the PSA that helped here.

I was out with one of the PSA members after a meeting (oddly enough, she was also named Tina), and we were wandering down the street that everybody knows, High Street. I was high on something (nothing chemical, as my random drug tests show), and I was shouting at this group and that group, trying to get a reaction. We must have walked up and down High from North Campus to South four times, stopping every so often so that I could amaze people with the bag that God was in (long story), or so that I could fall to my knees and cry in pain and agony at the fact that the temperature was 4 degrees Celsius. What can I say, sometimes I get the feeling that I might just have an actor's spirit trapped in my heart somewhere. I just pray that he never gets out. Anyhoo, I managed to offend some guys who seem to have thought I was gay (which I assure you I am not) and started following me. I know that there are freaks who hang out in Insomnia (no offense), a coffee shop on High, and so I slipped inside, hoping that they wouldn't follow.

As soon as I stepped in, I was greeted with these two beautiful green eyes, which just happened to belong to a beautiful face, set upon a beautiful body (get the drift?) that I vaguely remembered. She remembered me, also, and so we sat down and started talking. It was from Fencing Club that I knew her (though I couldn't for the life of me remember her name), and once she realised this (and the crowd of homophobics dispersed), we ventured out into the night.

The two Tinas now were on either side of me, one on each arm (though I was admittedly paying more attention to the new one on my left), trying to sell me for a dollar. Fortunately, they failed. I like to think that it was their marketing skills, not my looks.

I didn't part with my new-found Tina until about 3 A.M. that morning, after giving her a new box of Altoids, sent her home. After that, things just kinda happened, and, as history majors like myself are so fond of saying, the rest is some biased historical account that has no relevance to why you're reading this.

Well, I graduated college recently. In retrospect, here's kinda what I did: I fenced 4 years, lettering each. I still haven't picked up my ring for the last year, but I have all my other gifts. I'm working for the Office of Information Technology as a Customer Services Representative (which may not be fun, but it works).

I'm still hanging around with the PSA (8 long years!). I dated Tina for 7 years and two months, until she broke up with me in May of 2005. . . I didn't remember what single life was like anymore. Anyway, it's been fun figuring that out.

I started an ADF Grove in Columbus, named Three Cranes Grove, ADF. ADF has become a huge part of my life, much to Tina's occasional chagrin. It became central to our breakup.

Beyond that, I'm dabbling in Magic (that link will get you to my Dedicant Program stuff).

Content © 2003-2005, Michael J Dangler
Updated on 12/19/2005. Site Credits / Email Me!
Basic site design from ADF.org
(Yes, I stole it!)