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 "Margaret Gets Married." I have supplied a related webpage link. Answer the questions below to find out the coordinates to the final cache. Enjoy!
A. For new brides in Big Narrows, where are they encouraged to register?
A) At the local college (3)
B) Hardware store (4)
C) Community hall (2)
D) General store (0)
B. Which bridge did Smith cross?
A) Angus MacDonald bridge (0)
B) Lions Gate bridge (2)
C) Confederation bridge (8)
D) Seal Island bridge (9)
C. Where was Annie living?
A) Toronto (1)
B) Halifax (2)
C) Truro (8)
D) Edmonton (7)
D. Where was Margaret thinking of having the reception?
A) The curling club (4)
B) Hockey rink (5)
C) Church (2)
D) County club (1)
E. How old is Margaret?
A) 68 (6)
B) 75 (5)
C) 69 (1)
D) 84 (2)
F. Which day of the month is the sausage fest?
A) 9th (5)
B) 12th (9)
C) 31st (2)
D) 20th (3)
G. What does Alf's son Sid do?
A) DJ's at a hip hop club in Yarmouth (5)
B) Plans weddings (0)
C) Paints songbirds (2)
D) Ship builder (3)
H. Where did Margaret get married?
A) School gym (4)
B) Hardware store (5)
C) The church (0)
D) Library (1)
N 49 1A.BCD W 122 2E.FGH
Best of luck with this cache.
I took an average of seven waypoints at ground zero, but the reception was not ideal. I have supplied a potentially helpful photo hint to help narrow down the site. Please send me a message if you were able to take more accurate coordinates when at the cache.
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.