u/Odd_Band9399

• First know that Q = 17 in A1Z26.
• There’s a Q in the top-left corner of the word search.
• There are five Qs total in the grid. JCB said there are five clue in the word search. Q sounds like clue
• J, X, and G are the only letters that appear once in the word search. Q sits exactly halfway between them: J = 10, Q = 17, X = 24. So J+G=Q and Q+G=X
• The single J is at row 10, column 17 — so the row number gives J = 10 and the column gives Q = 17. JCB's name starts with J too
• There are 17 I's in the word search. Whenever I see I or C, I think of eye / see to look at that thing in particular

Theory is each paragraph teaches us a mechanic and indicator
P1: Word counting
P2: Book ciphers
P3: Atomic spelling
P4: Word length + acrostics
P5: Caesar shifts + homophones

I am halfway through a youtube series on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3A4o9amxb0&list=PLSeSDym5sPyw

I think the first paragraph hints at drawing a circle centered on the middle em dash. Middle is the middle word in the paragraph and there are lots of circle references. "brimmed to the rim" "circular route" etc

When you draw a circle that is 5 1/2 lines tall (matching the 5 1/2 years old) it intersects 2 x's in the paragraph.

Using a map overlay with the Xs on Houston and New Orleans, the center of that circle is Arkansas.

Then the 16 capital letters may hint at drawing two lines that intersect in Missouri.

full explanation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccShZYF1o48

HoB-nail box

HoB = Home of Brown, but in JCB's poem its what once way Brown. I think that might be Olathe, CO which used to be called Brown, CO

It could be in the nearby black canyon of the Gunnison, with the Gunnison river being the golden bending stream as its known for gold mining and gold medal fishing.

Thats the core of the theory. I put some more thoughts together in a very long rambling video if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXrp3pfprMU