Day 198: It's been awhile since I did an "obsession" post. Today I would like to talk about Stuart McLean's "Vinyl Cafe". If you are unfamiliar with this CBC radio program I'll do my best to try and explain how wonderful it is in a few words: in short, it's kind of like a warm, cozy hug. I've heard Stuart described as "Canada's Jimmy Stewart" and I couldn't agree more. I've loved his stories for a long time. Something that someone once pointed out to me was that my mood can be dramatically influenced by whatever I happen to be watching or listening to. I tend really to absorb it and feel it intensely. I expect that is the main reason I can't watch scary movies...I take them with me when I leave the theatre. On the flip side if I'm feeling sad and want to cheer up I can often put on a cheery song (think "Get Happy" sung by Judy Garland) and feel much better, or if it's a gloomy day and I'd rather it be sunny I have a "Sunshine Songs" playlist (includes "Brazzle Dazzle Day" from Pete's Dragon) and it usually helps. If I want to feel cozy, warm and though I'm spending time with an old, familiar Friend I'll choose Stuart. The Vinyl Cafe stories centre around "Dave" and his family. Dave is from Cape Breton (Big Narrows, to be exact), but lives in TO (I think). I know all about his family, his friends, his quirks and his adventures. And Dave isn't a real person. The way Stuart tells the stories you would swear he's telling you about a friend of his, or maybe about himself. Anyway, there are so many beautiful stories...some will make you laugh ("Dave Cooks The Turkey" comes to mind), and some will make you cry ("The Lottery Ticket" or the one where Arthur the dog died) and some just transport you to a different world and time all together (the one where Sam and Murphy spent the summer in Big Narrows and found the car on the mountain). It's way better to hear Stuart tell the story himself, but you can almost hear his voice in his books when you read them (I own a few). Tonight I introduced my roommate to Stuart. We listened to one of his CDs, had some laughs, and it made me Happy. #VinylCafe #StuartMcLean #365happydays
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