EVERYWHERE — No matter where he goes, activist Gerry Rubin is attracting a crowd. It’s not because of the witty slogans he prints on bumper stickers, and he isn’t on a hunger strike to prove his latest belief sytem. Rubin is getting people to gawk by simply getting dressed in the morning.
For years Rubin has been seen at City Council meetings and selling merchandise on the Third Street Promenade, always wearing track shorts.
Sensing the need for change, Rubin is now wearing pants, and not just slacks, but blue jeans and corduroy as well.
“It’s a drastic change, but I feel right now change is necessary, particularly in the White House,” he said, as a truck with out of state license plates passed by with one of Rubin’s bumper stickers pasted onto the rear bumper that read “Nothing happens north of Montana.”
“At first it was a little restrictive and itchy, but I’m getting used to the extra protection against the elements,” Rubin said of his new britches. “I think I’ll wear pants more often. They’re very slimming.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 1, 2006. Read the original PDF.