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Parking is nearby. So is a river. Depending on the time of year and day, lots of muggles.
This cache is based on “SPRING IS IN THE AIR,” which I had to get rid of. That one had a small cache in a log that had a very symmetrical circle on one end which was on the ground. I stuck some twigs in it, and the cache kept disappearing. It turns out that a squirrel was pulling everything out and storing nuts in it. I used a sharp stick to jab and stab him, but he popped out and squealed and chirped violently at me. I ran away and found another hiding place. People of small stature may have trouble with this one, and it is helpful to have hands made of only three fingers that can tighten into a thin pincer-like claw. Other than that, the caches are identical. And so, on with my tale of unmitigated horror.
Years ago, in early summer, my mother sent me to take tennis classes at the nearby high school. Clad in my new, frayed cut-offs and designer shirt, I quickly found that I hated tennis. I befriended one of the better players, William, and he wasn’t concerned at all about my lousy playing and disinterest. After class, we would go off on our bikes and ride all over the place, often this area and across the river. We would talk about the usual things that boys talk about: girls, explosions, girls, Mad Magazine, girls, monster movies, girls, etc. William was a cool guy; he never got mad, or got excited, or laughed.
He had an interesting hobby, too. After a couple of weeks, I noticed that he liked to randomly light things with matches. Every few days he would do this a couple of times and the frequency increased.
William lived in a large, modern house walled with very colorful windows. His father was never around, always away on business trips. I met his mother a couple of times, an attractive young woman who was totally disinterested in me and her son.
One time, we were listening to records and he decided to talk to his mother about something. While waiting for him, I looked over his record collection. “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” Dinah Washington. "A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" “Smokin‘ In the Boy‘s Room“ Brownsville Station. “Fire” The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. “Fire” The Pointer Sisters. “Burning Love” Elvis Presley. “I‘m On Fire“ Bruce Springsteen. “Disco Inferno” The Trammps. And many more.
Typically, we would go under a bridge next to his house, across 31st Street and over to an area with some houses and an old, large commercial greenhouse. Occasionally, he would lean over and light a stray piece of paper as we walked our bicycles. Most would go out on their own, but some I had to put out as they began to burn surrounding material. He didn’t seem to mind. Then, we would make our way back and over the bridge to the area where the cache is located. He never burned anything in this area and we were all over the place with our bikes.
The summer passed, the tennis classes ended, and I was a worse player than when I started. When we went back to our schools, I never saw him again.
I went into eighth grade and my first class of the day was math with Miss Zoda. It was around Halloween, and before class began, all the boys were talking about a big event that occurred in the early morning hours. The greenhouse burned down. I remember being careful not to react or look too interested as I heard the accounts of the blaze, the glass melting, cracking, bursting out of the wooden frames, the whole thing crashing down and the multiple fire departments not being able to do a thing about it. As I casually looked around the room, a question after question went through my mind. Had William burned down the greenhouse? Will anyone find out he did it? Should I tell anyone about my suspicions? Can I possibly keep this secret to myself? Is Miss Zoda actually a man dressed as a woman?
Now you can find out for yourself, I mean about the greenhouse. It was across the river from where the cache is situated.
You are looking for a cylindrical container, camouflaged, about 2 by 3 inches. There’s a history to this container and if you examine it, you will see how I got it.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fgnaq ba lbhe gvc-gbrf, be ba fbzrbar'f fubhyqref, ernpu va. Bcra hc. Eha!
ABGVPR! Vs lbh svaq guvf pnpur, lbh ner nhgbzngvpnyyl dhnyvsvrq gb cenpgvpr Cebpgbybtl va gur Fgngr bs Vyyvabvf. Be, lbh pna ertvfgre sbe n serr pbybabfpbcl guebhtu guvf jrofvgr! Pbagnpg gur nqzvavfgengbe sbe nqqvgvbany qrgnvyf.