No Pants? No Problem.
The question isn't whether to parade half-naked. It's where.
Dear Adam Sablich:
Congratulations on the success of your group improvisation, the No Pants 2K8 project, on the Red Line last month. I think the best review came from an online reporter whose lead on the event read, "No better icebreaker exists than taking off your pants in a crowd." Well, I don't see, say, the G-8 summit kicking off that way any time soon, but I take her point. Not wearing pants will get people talking. Still, public pantslessness is a hard concept for many people to grasp, but you managed to sell it as a way for people to get to know one another better without getting arrested.
Of course, as is always the case, all things old are new again. Back when I first moved to Boston and rode the T regularly, there occasionally were people who depantsed themselves. This usually was accompanied by loud whistling and the arrival of the MBTA police. In fact, the true genius of your plan was to realize that, for the foreseeable future, spontaneous public pantslessness likely will remain unpopular. (Try it at the mall sometime. People go diving over the counter at Cinnabon.) Now I think you should move your concept into other arenas. Let's have a Pantsless Day at the State House. On second thought, OK, let's not. But Logan Airport could go pantsless. Given what goes on at security these days, most people are halfway there already.
Charles P. Pierce
Cpierce@globe.com
