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 "The Fig Tree". I have supplied a related webpage link. Answer the questions below to find out the coordinates to the final cache. Enjoy!
A. What has been hanging around Tony's father's backyard?
A) Robin (2)
B) Cardinal (1)
C) Mary Turlington (3)
D) Chickadee (0)
B. What is like the size of apples?
A) Tulip bubs (9)
B) Cherry tomatoes (7)
C) Garlic buds (8)
D) Peaches (6)
C. How long can those Toscano cigars last?
A) Half an hour (3)
B) forty-five minutes (8)
C) Over an hour (4)
D) Two hours (6)
D. What does the rich red wine smell like?
A) Cranberry juice (1)
B) Like a distant field of violets (0)
C) A flowering meadow (2)
D) The soil of a Tuscan vineyard (3)
E. When did Eugene turn 89 years old?
A) November (6)
B) January (5)
C) December (2)
D) July (9)
F. When, and where did Maria arrive?
A) Pier 21 in Halifax, Christmas Eve, 1949 (5)
B) New York City, July 9th, 1948 (4)
C) Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia, 1939 (3)
D) Boston Harbour, October 1st, 1950 (2)
G. Who was at the bottom of the ladder?
A) Stephanie (2)
B) Morley (3)
C) Mrs. Turlington (4)
D) Sam (1)
H. When did they have the tree up?
A) 6pm (8)
B) Before noon (2)
C) Sunset (7)
D) Early afternoon (5)
I. When did Eugene get the fig tree up?
A) On the weekend (7)
B) Labour day (8)
C) Friday (9)
D) Saturday (2)
J. Which friend is Dave referring to?
A) Mr. Turlington (3)
B) Bob (6)
C) Sam (5)
D) Morley (7)
N 49 AB.CDE W 122 FG.HIJ
Enjoy the story!
A couple important things about this cache: There is no need to remove any moss. Make no moss-take! There is also a silica pack that is there to soak up moisture, please leave this in the cache. Thank you.
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.