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 "Kenny Wong's Practical Jokes." I have supplied a related webpage link. Answer the questions below to find out the coordinates to the final cache. Enjoy!
A. What section of the paper got drenched?
A) Politics section (6)
B) The sports section (8)
C) Classified section (9)
D) Finance section (7)
B. How many hot chocolate turkey sandwiches had Kenny Wong already sold?
A) 6 (1)
B) 5 (9)
C) 8 (3)
D) 7 (2)
C. What town did Kenny grow up in?
A) Burnt Creek, Alberta (1)
B) Salem, Oregon (2)
C) Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador (6)
D) Cheticamp, Nova Scotia (5)
D. What year did Kenny turn five years old?
A) 1981 (1)
B) 1949 (8)
C) 1928 (4)
D) 1972 (7)
E. What food did Eddie eat with such gusto?
A) Hamburgers (9)
B) Fried rice (4)
C) Sushi (5)
D) Donairs (7)
F. When did Kenny move to the city?
A) 1997 (0)
B) 1988 (2)
C) 1972 (9)
D) 1994 (8)
G. What is Kenny's zodiac sign?
A) Monkey (9)
B) Dragon (8)
C) Rooster (1)
D) Dog (2)
H. How much money did Dave give Kenny?
A) $200 (2)
B) $20 (1)
C) $40 (5)
D) $100 (4)
N 49 1A.BCD W 122 4E.FGH
Please note: This cache is located in an area of high housing development. If you notice anything indicating that there will be trees taken down, please let me know.
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.