Who is Donny Douglass?  If you have been to Kent, Ohio, you may have seen this guy walking the streets, maybe pawning something at the Exchange, or possibly lurking around in the KSU Student Center on Thursday nights.  Regardless where you may have seen him, now you will know the true story of this mysterious figure.

     Donny Douglass is my cousin.  I've spent a lot of time with him over the years, and I take blame for many of the vices he now possesses (over indulgence in smoking, drinking, and lust for women), but since he has moved to Kent, I don't know very much about his life outside of his small town of Atwater.  I decided to do some internet research, to fill in the parts of the story that I didn't know, along with bits and pieces collected at his own web site.

THE STORY

     For the first 21 years of his life, Donny lived in the small town of Atwater, Ohio, famous for, well, absolutely nothing.  His dad was an unrelenting asshole, and after his parents split, has father moved to Alliance, and his mother shacked up with an older man in Stow Kent, leaving Donny all alone in Atwater.  I would often visit, either with my girlfriend, or after we broke up, and the two of us would amuse ourselves any way possible;  shooting empty forties with a pellet gun, hitting golf balls across the street, and the occasional visit to a strip club.  Donny really seemed to have a sheltered life, dropped out of school, and spent all of his time on the internet, so I had a lot of catching up to do with him.   Having the house to ourselves, I would invite local girls over to drink, but maybe more so for myself, and not Donny.  Donny loathed the fact that they would stop over in the middle of the night drunk to clean his house.  I wish he could have hooked me up like that.  Anyways, the fun times soon ended, the girls lost their original luster, and we began to feel like alcoholics. 

     Donny moved to Stow-Kent with his mom and Dave, and I started selling vacuums door-to-door in Akron.  We seemed on top of the world, until his mother's boyfriend died of old age, and I quit my job because I realized it wasn't me.  He moved home once again, and once again I was bored and broke.

     Once again fate tipped her hat at us.  I landed a wonderful job at a Law Firm with a friend, and Donny moved into his own apartment with a friend.  I also turned 21, started clubbing, dating different women, and living more of my life.  Donny and his roommate both shared a love affair with video games, internet porn, and collecting empty pizza boxes.  Steve, his roommate, seemed to me like a big child, and I often worried about the two of them living together, but since it wasn't the best neighborhood, living alone seemed worse in comparison. 

     While in Kent, Donny had an opportunity to meet many different people.  He met Army Recruiters, Hare Krishna's, even drug dealers.  Luckily, he also met a group of kids that I could feel safe about, he met a Christian youth group that met at the campus once a week.  When he first told me, I prayed that it wasn't a cult.  Then I wondered why he would possibly be interested in a church group.   Yeah, I went to church, but I used it as an excuse to spend Saturday nights at my girls house.  It was the only way her parents would allow it.  I went with him to a meeting, and I realized it wasn't a cult (although I felt if I kept on coming, eventually I would get sucked in as well, and being around that many smiling people makes me very nervous).  Oddly enough, a picture of us ended up on the Kent State web site (which is quite ironic, since neither of us actually go there).  Really, this is where the story ends.  Eventually, his mom moved into his apartment, and they kicked his roommate out.  He still meets every week with his church group, I still occasionally stop out for a game of Billiards and a beer.  Maybe next time you are in Kent, you might see this guy stalking the streets as usual, and now that you know his story, you know he's just a good guy.

-Eric Malcolm

6/20/2004

picture found at
 donnydouglass@bravehost.com

picture found at www.mopar.com

picture found at
 donnydouglass.bravehost.com

picture found at www.kent.edu