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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
  • WIDOWED
  • FUNNY BUTTON

DON'T MISS!

I've written hundreds and hundreds of posts over the years. To help you find your way to the best of the best, I've tagged my favorites "Don't Miss!" Scroll down here to find them.

Another way to locate Riffs on Life that you might enjoy is to click above on your favorite category – "My Ever-Changing Family," perhaps, or "Funny Button." You can also use the search box located way up top to hunt for stories by topic. There's fun reading at "garden," "aging," "kids" and, of course, "Jon."

A 1970s Counterculture Bash at Zodiac News Service. Were You There?

September 5, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

It was a 1970s counterculture bash at Zodiac News Service. If you were there, pls help ID these party-goer pix. (Be patient. Lots of photos to upload!) Read more.

Widowed: Archiving My Husband and Zodiac, His Scrappy 1970s News Service

August 1, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

Zodiac-News-Service-Nov-11-12-1972

Can you archive a dead spouse? Can you stash them away in a temperature-controlled academic repository, to be preserved for centuries?  Read more.

Happy Birthday, US of A. You Made It to 250.

July 4, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment

happy birthday us of a. 250 American-flag-flying-against-the-sky-250

Happy birthday, US of A! You made it to 250. A little the worse for wear, but still here.  Read more.

Sixteen Years Left to Live. How Many Bowls of Froot Loops Is That?

June 6, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

froot-loops-at-my-grocery-store

In the sixteen years I’ve got left, how many of the gotta-do items on my to-do list will I get done?  Read more.

Was My Mother a 1950s Tradwife?

May 2, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

at-the-beach-in-the-1940s

My mother was a tradwife, a bona fide 1950s tradwife. That’s what she wanted. That’s what she got. Read more.

The Trouble With Poinsettias

April 5, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

poinsettias

The trouble with poinsettias is — they don’t know that Christmas is over and it’s time to make an exit.  Read more.

Widowed: If I Visit His Grave, Will It Help?

February 28, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

newhall-gravesite-colma

I said hello to Jon and his family, and then there was nothing more to do in this graveyard.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

At the Feet of Annie Dillard, Memoirist, Essayist, Observer of the Real

A well-read copy of"The Abundance" by Annie Dillard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

What draws me to author Annie Dillard — what makes me want to turn off the TV and grab one of her books — is her eagle-sharp eye for the world as it truly is. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

family-of-four

Was I a Tradwife in the 1980s? Or a Liberated Woman in Progress?

The audience of about 40 people at Barbara Falconer Newhall's author event for "Wrestling wiht God" on april 11, 2015, at Book Passage bookstore. Photo by Jon Newhall

What If You Threw a Book Launch — And Everybody Came?

Noah Lukeman on the Colon, That Most Majestic of Punctuation Marks . . .

froot-loops-at-my-grocery-store

Sixteen Years Left to Live. How Many Bowls of Froot Loops Is That?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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