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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

A Case of the Human Condition

I’m Barbara Falconer Newhall and I’ve got an incurable Case of the Human Condition. And since you do too, I’m counting on you to laugh and cry along with me as I riff on life as we know it . . . Below you'll read about my creaky, old fifties house, my forays into home gardening, my shopping stories, my spectacularly low-fashion wardrobe -- and more.

Help! I Can’t Remember the Names of My Flowers

July 16, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

i can't remember the names of my flowers

I love my new flower garden. But, for the life of me, I can’t remember the tongue-twister names of my flowers: Aquilegia? Armeria? Scabiosa?  Read more.

Gun Rights — Who Owns the Second Amendment?

June 11, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Mourners-at-Uvalde who owns the second amendment?

Who owns the Second Amendment? The Americans who own guns? Or the people who sell them?  Read more.

Jon Was a Sports Fan. Am I?

June 4, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

steph-curry a fave with sports fans

Jon loved sports. I didn’t. But I did love Jon, and he was a sports fan, so I followed his teams. Now that he’s gone, am I still a sports fan? Read more.

There’s a Pollinator in My Pollinator Garden

May 21, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

woodland-skipper-butterfly

The columbine, the statice and the armeria had been planted only a week earlier, but already there was a pollinator in my pollinator garden.  Read more.

A Pollinator Garden: Putting In Flowers and Hoping for the Birds, the Bees and the Beetles

May 14, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

flower-garden-plants

I want flowers. I want a pollinator garden. I want the crazy daisies, the seaside fleabane, the irises — and the birds and the bugs.  Read more.

The Abortion Wars: Forcing a Woman to Continue a Pregnancy Is a Form of Assault

May 7, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

the-abortion-wars pregnant-woman

Requiring a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term is an assault on her agency as a person. It’s also literally an assault on her body.  Read more.

Comedian Robert Morse – Dead at 90. Very Much Alive at 36

April 23, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

comedian robert morse in a Clip from Man Men TV show showing Robert Morse singing and dancing with secretaries.

The last time I saw comedian Robert Morse he was a young guy, a fireball. It was 1967 and he was working the crowd on the set of a TV show.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

We’re Having a — Merry — Christmas Without the Kids This Year

A young woman carves the Thanksgiving turkey in the kitchen. Photo by BF Newhall

Christmas has gotten to be a scheduling nightmare in our family. Peter lives in Minnesota. Christina lives in Southern California. Jon and I live in Northern California. That puts 400 miles between us and our daughter and 1600 miles between us and our son and daughter-in-law. Not exactly over the river and through the woods. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • 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!

Dooney-&-Bourke-handbag

Beware. The Decluttering Craze Could Leave You Holding the Designer Handbag.

Drumroll! I’ve Just Written My 600th Blog Post.

Studs Terkel, photo by Nina Subin

I’m a Studs Terkel Wannabe — He Captured American Voices

The mother of the bride contemplates the figure flaws she'll be showing off at her daughter's wedding. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Six Ways to Look Dreadful at Your Daughter’s Wedding — A Mother-of-the-Bride Moment

MORE DON'T MISS!

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