The Vinyl Cafe

Kids - always answer your phone.

The other day I did something I almost never do. The phone rang and the call display (the best invention since flush toileting) said "Blocked Call." As a rule I almost never answer "Blocked Call" but on this occasion I did.
It's a good thing I did!

Joe: Hello?
Caller: Joe? This is Stuart McLean from CBC Radio's The Vinyl Cafe. I'm hoping you can help me out with my upcoming Christmas story."

Talk about a surreal moment. I'm talking to Canada's most famous radio personality, only he's not "in character" but rather just talking normally. It was both weird and fascinating, but mostly flattering.

For those who don't know, Stuart McLean is CBC Radio's Don Cherry, not for all the pomp and circumstance but for his popularity and recognized association. CBC Radio without The Vinyl Cafe is as unthinkable as Hockey Night in Canada without Coach's Corner. McLean also has written many books and tours all corners of the country with live performances of The Vinyl Cafe.

His annual Christmas story is the most anticipated episode each year. So you can imagine my amazement and disbelief when he's hoping I can help him out with it.

Obviously I can not give too much information away, but I will tell you Stuart McLean drew interest in a story I wrote in my new ebook, Pucks On The 'Net. Talk about a vote of confidence! Canada's ultimate story teller liked a story I wrote in my little $4 ebook!

It's a story called Table Hockey Dreams, where as a youth I played out my hockey fantasies on one of those table top rod hockey games.

Where McLean takes the idea will fascinate me as much as I hope it fascinates his immense audience.

Here's a sneak peak at my story Table Hockey Dreams, available fully in my new ebook Pucks On The 'Net.

All the record books say that Wayne Gretzky scored 62 goals and 183 points in the 1986-87 season. Not in my record books though. My unofficial stats have The Great One equalling that production during the Christmas school break alone.

Of course, Jari Kurri scored more goals, because I had to pad Gretzky’s assists totals for realism. I had to put Dave Hunter on the left wing rather Mark Messier or Esa Tikkanen. The gears on the left winger of the new table hockey game I got for Christmas in 1987 never did work that well, so the stats I could produce were generously more suitable for a grinder like Hunter than Messier.

The rest of this story can now be found exclusively in my new ebook Pucks On The 'Net. It sells for just $3.99 at your favorite ebook retailer. Don't have an ebook reader? Download it on your computer courtesy Smashwords.com