The Hardscrabble Chronicles

Me and my friend Kat shared a common love for a lot of things. One of those things is a book called The Hardscrabble Chronicles by Laurie Bogart Morrow. I bought it on a sale for only 30 pesos, if I remember right at Booksale Baguio.

To my surprise, it was really a wonderful, nostalgic, heart-touching book. The author tells about life in the town of Hardscrabble somewhere in New England. It tells about the challenges of moving in a new and small town, anecdotes of the townspeople, and finally being part of a community that learned to love.

The book is a continuation of Field & Stream columnist Corey Ford who named the town Hardscrabble. Although it is a fictional name, the town itself is where Corey Ford and Laurie Morrow has actually lived.

What made this book so close to our hearts are the stories that tell about dogs that have been part of their lives. There's Jet of Huntress Bridge who faithfully waited for his master up to the very end; The Legend of Big Boy and George Allard's Dog; Each Year is Seven and Lost. It has been almost four years since I read that book and some of the stories I can't recall as detailed as I want to. All the dog stories in the book has truly touched me and brought me to tears. I intend to read it again one of these days. Kat loved it so much that I gave it to her when she went back home to Manila.

As I'm writing this, the Bee Gees are playing as the storm rages outside. Miss you, Kat! I miss your company!