Chapter 20: Ways and means

"This was taken ten years ago..." said Venera. "The lady on the left is my mother; she is now a spry old biddy of seventy and she is as feisty now as she was fifty years ago. My parents were naturists and my brother and I were brought up to be as well."

"While we were at university, my brother fell in with a bunch of Christian Fundamentalists who brainwashed him into accepting their narrow-minded beliefs. While I disagree wholeheartedly with his life-view, the very fact that he has a doctorate in comparative religion, just as mine is in sociology, underlines the premise that I want to talk to you about. It is this; children who are brought up in a positive, nudism-friendly (to coin the term) environment do anywhere from ten to twenty-five percent better than their clothed counterparts."

"Hello ... Anybody home... ?"

Lisa, wondering who it may be, went to answer the door. She came back into the living room, closely followed by Catherine.

"Hi, everybody..." said Kat, brightly. "Oh! You started without me? Did I miss anything?"

Several of the parents greeted her.

"Kat ... Have you eaten? I could fix you a plate while Venera continues. Oh, sorry ... Kat, this is Dr Venera Crenshaw. Venera, this is Catherine Harris, the teacher the school board picked to replace me at the day-care ... and my friend."

The two shook hands. Kat turned to Lisa. "As a matter of fact, I only heard about this little session an hour ago and it took me this long to find out where it was being held so ... yes ... I would love a bite to eat. But, continue..."

Two of the parents squeezed over to make room for Kat while Venera recapped what she had said and then continued for forty-five minutes. In spite of that, she had barely skimmed the document, avoiding all the relevant citations, references and weighty studies that accompanied her research. Afterwards, came a lengthy period of questions, both precise and pertinent; it was obvious that these parents were not the type to accept predigested pap.

Gradually, the tone of the meeting changed from 'what are you talking about' to 'how do we go about achieving this' as suggestion and opinion bounced all around the room. Meredith, who had been convinced from the outset of the validity of what Venera had presented, left the meeting regularly to join Mark in his room, coming out when voices were raised. The effective end of the question period coincided with Mark's bed-time, so from then on; she was able to participate fully in the discussion.

Beth, as meeting organizer, was de facto spokesperson for the parents. "Look ... Ever since Lisa has become Jeremy's teacher, Joe and I have noticed how he has improved ... he has become confident, mature and respectful and he has nothing but praise for his teacher. Why, last week, he came up with this story about a star causing the August heat wave. When I asked him where he had heard that he told me that Miss Lisa had told him. I checked it out on the internet and discovered that what he had told me was true but what I found most amazing is that a four year old would remember it so precisely. I'm sure the other parents will say the same."