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 focusing on; Dave, his wife Morley, and their two kids, Sam, and Stephanie. These characters are fictitious, but we truly 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 poignant 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 sincere 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 "Odd Jobs." I have supplied a related webpage link. Answer the questions below to find out the coordinates to the final cache. Enjoy!
A. What did Dave fetch from the basement?
A) A rake (6)
B) A hammer (9)
C) A shovel (2)
D) A paintbrush (8)
B. What did the screw driver look like as it was flying through the air?
A) An angry songbird (5)
B) A sharp rock (8)
C) A tomahawk (4)
D) An eagle (1)
C. What did Bert Turlington offer to bring over?
A) Power drill (5)
B) Chain saw (2)
C) Blow torch (1)
D) Band saw (3)
D. How many men were in Dave's kitchen?
A) 5 (2)
B) 8 (3)
C) 10 (9)
D) 7 (8)
E. What was on the floor?
A) Pizza boxes, and a case of empty beer, and a passed out Sam (6)
B) Galway the cat (5)
C) Power tools (7)
D) A mouse nest (4)
F. How long did the renovation take?
A) 5 weeks (3)
B) 8 weeks (6)
C) 6 weeks (2)
D) 10 weeks (1)
G. What does Morley have growing in the window space?
A) Mold (4)
B) A herb garden (3)
C) A mushroom (7)
D) A bonsai tree (9)
H. Where is the sun drifting?
A) Below the horizon (6)
B) Behind the neighbour's house (7)
C) Over the backyard (1)
D) Over the coriander (4)
N 49 1A.BCD W 122 4E.FGH
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.