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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.

We’re Not Immortal After All . . . Good to Know

October 5, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

we're not immortal after all heidelberg-castle-on-stein

We’re not immortal after all. When we were twenty, we thought we were, which meant some of us did things like hop a freight train to Los Angeles.  Read more.

I’m 83 and I’m Dumping My Bucket List

September 28, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

dumping out my bucket list the-breakers-newport

Sometime between the pandemic and my husband’s death I began dumping out the contents of my travel bucket list.  Read more.

Is My Writing Too Nice?

August 31, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

NASA-satellite-michigan

I sometimes wonder when I sit down to write — am I too much of an optimist? Am I too hopeful? Too trusting? Is my writing too nice?  Read more.

Tending a Friendship — I’m on Her Calendar and She’s on Mine

August 10, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

tending a friendship on the trail. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Tending a long and deep friendship — we’ve done it by setting a hiking date once a month, without fail, so that I’m on her calendar and she’s on mine.  Read more.

Getting Older: I’m Not ‘Keeping Busy’

July 20, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

older: I'm not 'keeping busy'

I’m getting older and older. I’m not ‘keeping busy.’ I’m busy, which is not the same thing.  Read more.

Sheltering at Home Revisited: The Virus Arrives

March 16, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

covid-19-warning

Sheltering at home revisited: The virus arrives, the shutdowns go into effect, and we find out how much our “mere” acquaintances mean to us.  Read more.

Widowed: We’re Older and Kinder Now

February 10, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

we're older and kinder now kindness-carey-mulligan-as-felicia-montealegre

I’m older and kinder now, but not because I’m a virtuous goody-good. It’s my irresponsible id, my reptilian brain, that wants to be kind.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Xi’An to TX and Mao to LBJ — I’ve Been Traveling and I’m Back

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall poses with a mock-up of Pope Francis at the Religion Newswriters Association conference in Austtin, 2013. RNA photo

China, Austin, a Religion Newswriters conference — I had a great, traveling September. It started with on my birthday on September 6, which lasted only a few hours because Jon and I were on a plane to Shanghai when somewhere over the Pacific we hit the International Date Line. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
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  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

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!

A large stainless steel kitchen sink with a woodsy view out the window. Photo by BF Newhall

Five Things I Like Best About My Kitchen

The papal keys in bas relief over the tomb of John Paul II, Vatican. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I Love Pope Francis — Or Do I?

Tinka Falconer enjoys Nordstrom Cafe chicken and berry salad. Photo by BF Newhall.

My Mother’s Last Words to Me Before She Died

religion-bookshelf

Our Globalized, Multi-Faith World

MORE DON'T MISS!

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