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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

My Ever-Changing Family

Our family shrinks and grows. People die. People get born. People get mad and won't talk to you for a while. Kids grow up and find partners of their own, and pretty soon there are brand-new in-laws. And a grandchild or two.

A Totality Disappointment in St. Joseph, Missouri

August 24, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A totality disappointment: An eclipse chaser lies on the ground for a better view of the total eclipse August, 2017, St. Joseph, MO. Photo by Barbara Newhall

We traveled 1700 miles to see the eclipse. The moon came between us and the sun, as promised. But so did a big fat cloud. A totality disappointment. Read more.

With a Little Luck You’ll Live Long Enough to Breed Flies in Your Attic

August 10, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Dead flies caught on sticky fly paper. They didn't live long. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Back in 1987 old age seemed a long ways away. It still does.  Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: When Your Six-Year-Old Wants to Talk Money

July 27, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A six-year-old talks money. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Our 6-year-old wanted an allowance. Jon and I debated: 50 cents a week? 75? “Let’s not talk in cents,” said Peter. “Let’s talk in dollars.” Read more.

Kids and Money: A Six-Year-Old Learns the Art of the Deal

July 27, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Kids and money. Our six-year-old had his eyes firmly on the money. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Some kids dream of growing up to be an astronaut, a vet or a rock star. Our kid had his eyes on the bottom line — on the folding stuff. Read more.

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

July 4, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

‘The right wingers don’t own the American flag flag,’ I said as my husband hung the Stars and Stripes from our garage. ‘It’s my flag too.’ Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Would My Husband Like to Add My Name to His?

May 29, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Jon whose middle name is still not Falconer after 35 years of not being Jon Falconer Newhall -- cooking dinner for my birthday in 2011. He's still comfortable in the kitchen and at the supermarket. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

When Jon and I married, I wanted to share a name with him and our future children. I took his last name. Would he like to take mine as his middle name? Read more.

They Did It — They Got Married (And the Bride Was Beautiful)

May 18, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The bride was beautiful. A crystal headpiece set off Christina Newhall's short dark hair on her wedding day in May. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The bride was beautiful. The setting was exquisite. The band kept everyone jumping. Everything a mother of the bride could hope for. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

I Can’t Believe I Got in the Water With That 1400-Pound Whale

Marine World foto, Newspaper reporter Barbara Falconer Newhall in wet suit and Marine World trainer Deirdre Ballou in boots and rain coat with bottle-nosed dolphin Spock at edge of tank in 1979. Marine World photo.

Last weekend I watched the CNN documentary “Blackfish” and saw a Sea World trainer attacked and pulled underwater by an out-of-control killer whale. I had to wonder — could that have been me? “Blackfish” traces the deadly history of killer whales at places like Sea World, and it brought back memories of the day I found myself in a tank of water with a 1400-pound pilot whale named Koko. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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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!

man-with-suitcase

The Kids Are Coming for a Visit. No Time to Write

Oakland artist Hannah Woebkenberg sits in front of a sculpture she made of pantyhose. Photo by BF Newhall

Oakland’s Jingletown: Arts, Crafts, Cool Kitsch — And Cookies

Ceramic cake by Richard Shaw -- "Bride and Ship, 2003." Photo by BF Newhall

Ceramics Envy at the Berkeley Art Center — I Want to Get My Hands into that Earthy, Messy, Squishy Clay

A grey-green Tudor bungalow in Minneapolis. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Tudor Bungalows in the Twin Cities—Little Houses With a Big Sense of Humor

MORE DON'T MISS!

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