Rubbed up against: Ron Jeremy (not literally)

Having starred in 1,700 "adult" films, one expects big
things from Ron Jeremy ... pun intended. But the
truth is, he is a pretty nice, laid back guy from what I could
tell when I met him at Romantix in Ames, Iowa while on assignment
for the Iowa State Daily. My job was really to go along with our
young female photographer because some people are pretty freaked
out about walking into a porn shop if they've never been before.

And why not? Porn shops are pretty rank. Even the cleanest, best-
maintained, family-owned establishments have an aura like Satan's
waiting room. I don't know if it's the smell of Pine Sol, the glazed-
over look on the pierced faces of the cashiers, the copies of
"Lactating Mamas" or the old dudes who walk in with their own towels,
but you cannot open a dirty book store that isn't rank.

There was a line out the door. Nearly 100 people were in line to
meet Mr. Jeremy and he did everything he could to accomodate all of
them. Handshakes, smiles, kind words. He was short. About 5'9". He
was also dressed kind of shabbily in a running suit. The dude oozed
the sort of sleazy pornstar quality one would expect, but let's be
honest: he invented that. He's like the Shakespeare of porn.