It is a tremendous gift for one to create moving, beautiful short stories. It takes a great amount of talent to bring someone from laughter, to tears, all within a tapestry of finely woven words.
Canadian writer, and story teller, Stuart Mclean had this gift. Canada lost Mr. Mclean in 2017, but his short stories live on.
In 1994, Stuart Mclean launched "The Vinyl Cafe", a radio/live audience series of short stories featuring a variety of characters, but mainly focussing on; Dave, his wife Morley, and their two kids, Sam, and Stephanie. These characters are ficticious, but we truely get a sense that they are real. Real in a sense that we can relate, laugh, and through Mclean's writing, clearly see the quirks that they encounter as they navigate through life.
Stuart Mclean captured human decency so confidently in his short stories, they weren't all sunshine and rainbows, but Stuart always seemed to find a way to get to a poignent conclusion. My mother and I would often sit in our car, long after arriving at our destination, just to listen to the end of one of his epically simple, yet sinscere endings to "The Vinyl Cafe."
This mystery cache pays tribute to a man who shot Canada with such a warm literary lens. Who saw the generosity, kindness, and uniqueness of this nation.
Your task is rather simple. Listen to his story called "Christmas Presents." I have supplied a related webpage link. Answer the questions below to find out the coordinates to the final cache. Enjoy!
A. Who's name did Morley pull out of the pot?
A) Stephanie (6)
B) Dave (3)
C) Sam (2)
D) Mr. Turlington (5)
B. How many classes did Morley miss?
A) Two out of the first three (0)
B) One out of the first three (2)
C) Three out of the first six (1)
D) Two out of the first six (7)
C. What day was Morley's "favourite night of the week"?
A) Tuesday (2)
B) Saturday (7)
C) Sunday (8)
D) Monday (9)
D. Which hobby did Sam want to learn?
A) Model rocketry (2)
B) Model boat construction (7)
C) Knit (9)
D) Geocaching (8)
E. What did Sam want to create?
A) A coat (1)
B) A paper mache doll of himself (2)
C) A bracelet (7)
D) Magic (6)
F. What movie was Sam, and his friend Jeremy watching?
A) Finding Nemo (6)
B) Lethal Weapon 3 (3)
C) Harry Potter (5)
D) Jaws (7)
G. What was Morley's suggestion to Sam about the gift he will be giving?
A) Make a scarf (5)
B) Add some wine to the gift (4)
C) Add a card (7)
D) Add more ribbon to the wrapping (8)
H. What was Stephanie's gift to Dave?
A) A watch (8)
B) Cuff links (2)
C) A photo of Dave, and his father (0)
D) A photo of Dave, and Morley (8)
I. What was the colour of ribbon on Morley's wrist?
A) Red (0)
B) Blue (2)
C) Green (8)
D) Orange (9)
J. What did the note say on the pear tree?
A) "Make sure Santa eats his cookies!" (8)
B) "Merry Christmas, I chose you." (3)
C) "We're going on a trip!" (7)
D) Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!" (9)
N 49 AB.CDE W 122 FG.HIJ
Enjoy the story! I respectfully ask that you refrain from giving away this cache's location. Happy caching!
While this is not part of the puzzle, why not listen to a beautiful tribute song written by Buddy MacDonald. Rachel Davis is on the fiddle, and Buddy on the guitar. It's from an interview at Cape Breton University. Watch the whole interview, or jump ahead to the tribute song at 10:30. Click here.