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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

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

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

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

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

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

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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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Child Is Born — And So Is a Grandpa

Berrypicking grandfather and grandson. Photo by BF Newhall

My friend Jake is a man in his prime. He does triathlons, reads good books, knows all the best hiking trails and drinks nice wines. Jake has never been anybody’s rickety old grandpa — until recently, when Jake’s daughter gave birth to a baby girl. 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!

The Writing Room: If It’s Religious, Can It Be Art?

A gray American domestic cat has curled up atop a 1986 TV set being used as a computer monitor in a home office. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Mom With Kids — The Home Office Blues

Barbara Falconer Newhall, author of "Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith," with her first royalty check in her home office. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My First Royalty Check Has Arrived — How Cool Is That?

scary-mask

Halloween — A Day for the Dead

MORE DON'T MISS!

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