I stroll in and address the Town Council. I'm 18-years-old. I have just graduated from high school. The Town Council has big problems. They don't need to listen to some drivel from a high school kid. I have just the one chance and I gotta nail it from the very start.

I look the Council members in the eye. I lecture, "The town of Otter Bay is dying. I know how to bring it back to life. My plan will work, however, I need your help to make it work."

Ben Hackman eyes me suspiciously. He snaps, "Just like that, you can save Otter Bay?"

"If I can bring boats in to the marina, then Otter Bay Marine can be revived to do maintenance work on the boats. Maintenance work depends on workmanship and hardware. Otter Bay Marine has a good reputation for quality hardware, the former OBM technicians have a good reputation for quality installation and nobody else has the marina-side location. If the Town Council is willing to pass a new ordinance, I can get boats in here to fill the marina."

Judge Drury asks, "Just what kind of ordinance is going to bring tourist boats in here?"

I lecture the Council members, "The new ordinance will allow Otter Bay to offer the casual boater something that he or she can't get anywhere else along the coast. The unique thing will cause boaters to come and try Otter Bay, out of curiosity, if nothing else. When they get here and find that things are as good as they will be, they'll come back and so will their friends. During the time that they're here, they'll spend money in the town of Otter Bay, lots of money. When their friends come here, they'll spend even more money in the town of Otter Bay. Otter Bay must have the tourist money to survive."

Suzy Miller asks, "How can a simple ordinance change make Otter Bay that much more attractive?"

"The casual boater sails into Otter Bay just to check and see if the new ordinance is true. It's true and the boater decides to rent a boat slip for a day or two and kind of check out the new Otter Bay. During the day or two the boater spends money; lots of money. The town of Otter Bay survives and even prospers."

Dan Glorm asks, 'Once again, what's this magic ordinance that will save Otter Bay?"

"With the new ordnance, Otter Bay becomes a clothing optional zone."

There's absolute dead silence in the room. A pin dropping would have sounded like a giant oak tree crashing to the ground.

Ben Hackman finally muses, "The Otter Bay nudist colony. I'll be damned!"

To keep things moving, I say, "Probably, but first you need to vote for the new ordinance and save Otter Bay."

The room descends into chaos. My idea is insane. My idea is immoral. My idea is totally unworkable.

I'm about to jump in again when good ol' Ben Hackman asks the other council members, "Why not? Otter Bay is dying. Have any of you got a better plan?"

I quickly ask, "Where else can you go in the nude in public along the coast?"

Roger Brennan says, "Nowhere and for good reason!"

Ben Hackman asks, "What's the good reason, Roger?"

Roger says, "Well, you can't just have people running around naked."

I lecture, "You can if it's a nudist colony, they do it all the time. We'll have warning signs, so that no one just wanders in and, surprise!"

Suzy Miller says, biting off each word, "I don't do it all the time and I have no intention ..."

I jump in, "Suzy, how much is your house worth right now?"

Suzy grimaces and says, "Not quite the cost of the gun powder required to blow it to hell."

Dan Glorm says, "Yeah, there's a lot of that kind of problem going on around here. People still owe money on a house that they can't sell and that will soon become uninhabitable, if the town closes down."

With Dan's help, I maybe got 'em hooked, "If we have a nudist colony, we have something that will draw in the curious, the pleasure seekers. For at least a time, Otter Bay property values will go sky high. If you don't want to show your assets, you can sell out and relocate in style."