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 "Christmas in the Narrows". I have supplied a related webpage link. Answer the questions below to find out the coordinates to the final cache. Enjoy!
A. How old was Dave in this story?
A) 9 (5)
B) 8 (8)
C) 10 (6)
D) 12 (1)
B. Which store could you get a deer from the woodlot to the dining room table?
A) Rutledge's hardware (6)
B) General store (2)
C) Murphy's hardware (1)
D) MacDougal's pharmacy (3)
C. What did the big sign with red block letters in Rutledge's read?
A) "Come on in!" (1)
B) "Bring the fastest game on earth into your home!" (6)
C) "There are sewers a plenty yet to dig!" (8)
D) "Glace Bay is thataway!" (2)
D. What did Dave say when he couldn't look Mr. Rutledge in the eye?
A) "I'd like to buy the game." (1)
B) "It's for my friend." (0)
C) "Here's my resume." (3)
D) "It's not for me, Mr. Rutledge." (2)
E. What was Dave's grandmother giving to him?
A) A book (1)
B) Fiddle (0)
C) Easel (2)
D) Record (3)
F. What was Dave's nickname in this story?
A) David (4)
B) Davey (6)
C) Donny (9)
D) Dan (1)
G. What did Dave give Annie?
A) Pen (2)
B) Yo yo (0)
C) Baseball mitt (1)
D) Oven mitt (3)
H. How old is Annie?
A) 9 (2)
B) 10 (3)
C) 7 (7)
D) 5 (0)
N 49 1A.BCD W 122 5E.FGH
I hope you enjoyed solving this one.
Stealth may be a must at GZ. Please place securely, and hidden from sight. This area kind of looks like the way I pictured Big Narrows in my head, hence the location for this particular hide.
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.
