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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

Barbara’s Riffs on Life

It’s Christmas — And This Is What Merry Looks Like

December 25, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

what-merry-looks-like/ virgin-and-child-toledo

Want to know what merry looks like? Climb the stairs to the choir loft at the Toledo Cathedral in Spain. A merry scene awaits you.  Read more.

Widowed: Life Goes On — And Some of Us Still Like It

December 18, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

life goes on, as with this crocosmia-sprouting-through-a-deck Like it or not, life goes on. Our 101-year-old family friend had picked up the phone to check on me. If that’s not liking life, what is?   Read more.

Widowed: Or, How to Wrestle a Christmas Tree Into Its Stand Without Calling the Neighbors for Help

December 11, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 20 Comments

watering-the-Christmas-tree

The kids are coming for Christmas. A tree is in order. But how’s an newly minted widow to wrestle a Christmas tree into its stand on her own?  Read more.

Breaking News: The Afterlife Is ‘Fantastic’

December 4, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 17 Comments

the afterlife is fantastic
This just in — the afterlife is “fantastic.” That’s the news from Jon. And he should know, he’s been in the afterlife since February. Read more.

Widowed: As He Lay Dying

November 27, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

as he lay dying -- but he was healthy three months earlier to hangs-quilt

I wasn’t in the hospital when Jon died. I couldn’t hold his hand or say any words as he lay dying. Did he know his life was coming to an end?  Read more.

Talk to My Deceased Husband? I Can’t Do It

November 20, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

man-on-recumbent-bike

Talk to my deceased husband? Some widows can. Not me. I can’t talk to Jon without going to that awful place where he is no more.  Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Weight Lifting Can Kill You — Shall I Email the News to My Weight-Lifting Son?

Peter Newhall, a young man in his 30s, bench presses at a gym. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Weight lifting can kill you. Death by dead lift and dumbbell can sneak up on you long after you’ve put the weights back in the squat rack. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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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!

Glacial erratics at inyo national forest. photo by bf newhall

Buddhist Writing — Wisdom or Chicken Shit?

Christina Newhall with cell phone. Photo by BF Newhall

When a Grown Daughter Doesn’t Call — Or, How to Overmother a Twenty-Something

violet pansy blossom with green edges. Purple Rain. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My Purple Rain Garden: Is the Universe Trying to Tell Me Something?

The Pentwater Michigan marquee announces book talk by Barbara Falconer Newhall on her book, Wrestling with God. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My One-Woman Road Trip Begins — Grosse Pointe to Pentwater

MORE DON'T MISS!

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