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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

mothers

What Makes Me Happy? Having a Happy Kid, of Course

July 2, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

what makes me happy.  Our-son-and-grandchild

What makes me happy? Catching one of my kids in a moment of real time happiness. Like my son holding his newborn for the first time.   Read more.

Gray Hairs. Wrinkles. And Kids Who Won’t Stop Growing Up

April 13, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Christina, Jon and Peter. Their mother had gray hairs, bu the kids were still small enough to cuddle. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Peter’s in fourth grade now. My third grade boy is gone. Christina has grown an inch since Easter. My size 6 girl is gone.  Read more.

A Lost Child in Wartime Detroit — A Headscarf Story

February 9, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

a lost child in wartime Detroit . Kern's Department Store, Detori., 1942. Photo courtesy of US Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information - Library of Congress-Prints & Photographs online catalog Public Domain 1942-07-00

I couldn’t see the point of my mother’s skimpy yellow babushka — until the day I found myself a lost child in a cavernous Detroit department store. Read more.

My Ancestral Ghosts — Are They Haunting This Halloween House in Minnesota?

October 31, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Are my ancestral ghosts haunting this Red Wing house decorated for Halloween. Barbara Falconer Newhall traveled to Red Wing, MN, to look for her 3x great-grandmother's houses. This house, a duplex, built in 1920, stands at the location on Third St. where her ancestor lived. Photos by Barbara Newhall

Could my ancestral ghosts be haunting this Halloween house in Red Wing, Minnesota? I wanted to think so. Read more.

My Long-Lost Dead Ancestors — I Found Them in a Parking Lot

August 18, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The 1600 block of Minneapolis's Seventh Avenue South where my long-lost dead ancestors once lived is now a parking lot fronted by high rises. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Yes, you can locate your long-gone ancestors. You can pin them down to an exact place. Sometimes it’s a parking lot. Read more.

The Writing Room: Write About My Aging Mother? I Don’t Think So . . .

June 5, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Ten reasons why I’m finding it impossible to write about my 92-year-old mother, even though she’s all I can think about right now . . . .

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

At the Hallmark Store — Teary-Eyed in the Sympathy Card Section

condolence cards in a Hallmark Store rack. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I keep a stash of greeting cards in my desk — birthday and anniversary cards to send to sisters-in-law, brothers, nephews and nieces as the dates come up. But that’s not what I needed on a recent afternoon. I needed sympathy cards. Two of them. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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  • 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!

president barack obama giving speech in cairo, 2009. sentinel photo.

The Rhetorician in the White House — Or, How I Learned to Love the Passive Voice

atlas-brick-stairs

Yay! Our Garden Remodel Is Done. Come Take a Walk

A christmas tree with lights, decorations and gifts piled up below. Photo by BF Newhall

It’s August, But It’s Not Too Soon to Wonder — Can Christmas Be Christmas Without the Kids?

Tinka Falconer in a flowered dress arms akimbo, 1940's. Photo by DB Falconer

Little Girl Lost — My Mother’s Magical Babushka

MORE DON'T MISS!

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