Baring Dare on DART Draws Stares

The Blue Line train from Union Station in Dallas to downtown Garland left right on schedule before 3 p.m Sunday.

By the time it pulled into the West End station at 3:02, Max Kuhl and his three friends had pulled their pants off.

So had Ashley Ross and Zach Mayer, right down to their skivvies and to the wide-eyed looks of fellow passengers who had no idea they’d boarded a train bound for shock humor.

In all, about 70 people – mostly in their 20s but plenty older and younger than that, too – rode DART sans pants Sunday afternoon.

According to organizers Brian Alguire and Chris Linville, it was the first time Dallas has taken part what has become a national event.

Why they did it was hard to say.

“Why not? I didn’t have anything better to do today,” Alguire said.

And it did turn out to be quite a trip.

Gathering in the sunshine beside the frozen fountain at Ferris Plaza in Dallas, the riders got their instructions.

Get on the train, act normal, nonchalant. Then drop your drawers and go on as if nothing unusual had happened.

But even before they got near a train, much less had their pants off, the crowd had drawn some attention.

A Dallas Area Rapid Transit police cruiser was parked and waiting in front of Union Station. On the platform, an officer warned people that taking their pants off was against the law.

“It’s considered disorderly conduct. You can go to jail or you can be cited,” he said.

Undaunted and eager to undress, the group separated onto different trains – the Red Line into Plano and the Blue Line into Garland.

So heading north and northeast, they rode.

But it wasn’t a ride without its hiccups.

Seconds after Kuhl, Ross and Mayer had their pants down, a woman riding with her pants very much on said she was calling the police.

Mark Kaplan, who was the one issuing directions, perhaps because he is a little older, told everyone without pants to pack up and hop off at the Akard Station.

Standing on the platform lined up in everything from racy, lacey briefs to plain old boxer shorts, it was a cold 15-minute wait for the next Blue Line run.

Ross, 19, had anticipated the chill even before she boarded the train.

“I’m a lifelong nudist. I usually stay in a warm place when being nude, though,” she said.

Once aboard and going again, it was mostly a smooth ride.

The group got a few looks and a few laughs. For the most part, though, people went about their business, pants or no pants. DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said no one was ticketed or arrested.

No one really even took notice when the sweet, serious and automated voice of DART rail announced again and again that riders should “beware of suspicious activity and unattended packages.”

Pressed for their opinion, those not in on the joke took it differently.

Osa Eke said it wasn’t a big deal, even though it was pretty funny.

“As long as it’s not too much, it’s fine. No one is affected,” he said.

Lusinda Kureir saw it much differently. She immigrated to the U.S. from Sri Lanka 10 years ago in hopes of better things.

Young people taking their pants off on a train didn’t fit well into her vision of life here.

“This is a good country. Why you do without clothes?” she asked.

The apparent answer was for a laugh. But the truer answer might have been just because it’s there.

As a 19-year old who gave his name only as “Pitts” said, it made for an interesting afternoon.

“I was on my way home from church, and I heard about it on the bus. It sounded like something to do,” he said.