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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.

Sheltering at Home Revisited: The Virus Arrives

March 16, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

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.

Here Comes Another Year!

December 30, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Here comes another year. Some of us have accumulated a lot of them. My glamorous Aunt Grace had racked up 98 years by the time she left the planet.  Read more.

Happy Holidays!

December 23, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

vintage-christmas-tree-ornament

I’m keeping my mid-winter greetings short and sweet today: May your holiday season be warm and bright! Happy Holidays!  Read more.

‘Tis the Season to Declutter. Or Is It?

December 9, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

1960s-peace-flag

‘Tis the season to declutter — to ditch the 1960s peace flag and make room for the garlic roaster and the pickleball paddles. Or is it?  Read More.

Blood and Guts in My Backyard. Or, Nature Tidies Up

December 2, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

blood and guts in my backyard raven-california

Blood and guts in my backyard: A half-eaten deer lay sprawled under my cypress tree. Ravens croaked the news from the tree above.  Read more.

Betty Rollin: A Light Has Gone Out. And So Have Many Others

November 30, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

betty rollin a light has gone out rosalynn-carter-casket

Betty Rollin: A light has gone out. And so have many others — Rosalynn Carter, Harry Belafonte, Dianne Feinstein, Cormac McCarthy, Daniel Ellsberg …  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Cemetery Comes to LIfe — With Tulips

Tulips of many colors hang upside down over the entrance to the Tower Chapel at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Calif., during its annual Tulip Exhibition. The design, titled "Puddle Jumping," is by the Merritt College Floral Design Department. Photo by Barbara Newhall

By now my faithful readers know that I’ve got a thing about tulips. So, of course, I dropped everything to take in a local tulip show last weekend. 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

 
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!

Pages in Hebrew and Aramaic from the Bleichrode Jewish prayer book published in 1923 in Franfurt. Photo by BF Newhall

Who Is a Jew? The Pew Research Center Tackles the Question — And Gets Some Answers

Stars and Stripes. A man hangs the American flag on the front of his house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The American Flag Is Flying in My Liberal, Elitist, San Francisco Bay Area Neighborhood Today. Here’s Why.

A pair of whimsical earrings by Susan Brooks of Berkeley with blue and green beads. Photo by BF Newhall

At the Sawtooth Building: Earrings for Thirty-Six Bucks . . . And Other Hand-Made Pleasures

the words Oakland Riviera in bright colors are painted on a wall in Oakland, CA, Jingletown. Photo by BF Newhall

Amazing Places: A Walk Around Oakland’s Jingletown

MORE DON'T MISS!

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