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 "Jimmy Walker of Foggy Bottom Bay". 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 pull out of his pocket?
A) Spare change (1)
B) Manila envelope (2)
C) Quarter (3)
D) Cigarettes (0)
B. Which train was Dave on?
A) The Canadian (3)
B) The Skeena (2)
C) The Ocean Limited (0)
D) The train to Churchill (1)
C. Where would the back part of the train peel off to?
A) Ottawa (3)
B) Halifax (4)
C) Montreal (5)
D) Edmonton (7)
D. Who did Jimmy find to go to their house for the night?
A) Jason (7)
B) Alex (2)
C) Derek (8)
D) Roy (6)
E. How would Jimmy describe the sounds of back home?
A) "The sweet smell of Atlantic air." (4)
B) "The grinding crash of the surf." (0)
C) "An ocean playground." (2)
D) "The sound of deep solitude." (5)
F. Where did Jimmy's two uncles smuggle margarine to?
A) St. John's (2)
B) Antigonish (4)
C) Halifax (3)
D) Charlottetown (5)
G. Where was Jimmy working for the past three years?
A) Fort MacMurray (4)
B) Fort MacNewfoundland (3)
C) Vancouver Island (9)
D) Calgary (8)
H. Where did Jimmy ultimately move to?
A) St. John's (0)
B) Vancouver (2)
C) Port Aux Basques (8)
D) Toronto (1)
I. What did Jimmy's envelope say?
A) "Take the train to Brockville, and sprinkle him at the station." (6)
B) "Take the train to Montreal, and sprinkle him at the station." (3)
C) "Take care, and all the best - Jimmy." (5)
D) "Take me to the surf, sprinkle me there." (0)
N 49 AB.CDE W 123 1F.GHI
I hope you enjoyed the story!
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.