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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.

Mad Men Exposes the ’60s Girdle — But Will She Get It Off in Time?

August 21, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

two women wearing 1960s Spirella Sarong girdle with sign "happiness is a flat tummy."

You can’t fool me. I know a girdle when I see one. A stewardess on Mad Men did a strip tease — but how was she going to get that girdle off without turning hot sex into farce? Read more.

Why Can’t a Dad Be More Like a Mom? . . . Do We Really Want Them To Be?

July 27, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

Men and housework and childcare. A man carries his affectionate toddler girl. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My friend Carol calls them “the little inequities.” She is talking about the small, countless ways that men fail to notice what needs to be done for their children. Read more.

The Scottville, Michigan, High School Football Team — 1929

July 20, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

A photo of the Scottville, Michigan, High School Football Team — 1929

Shepherd Bliss and Men’s Secrets — No Women Allowed

July 10, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

Drum circle drummer for mens movement. photo by Joe Perez

Men’s No. 1 secret, Shepherd Bliss told me, the one they want to keep from women — and other men — is that they, too, feel powerless. Read more.

What’s Rhetoric? Let My Two-Year-Old Enlighten You

May 25, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

My daughter Christina discovered the art of rhetoric when she was being weaned from baby bottle to plastic cup. She’d say, “I want milk and I don’t want it in a cup” — an elegant illocutionary statement that usually got her what she wanted, her bottle.

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

April 20, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

A six-year-old boy dressed as a cowboy for halloween. Photo by Barbara Newhall

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

How Selective Service Made a Man of My Son — Without Even Trying

February 23, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

The 1998 Selective Service pamphlet -- I left it at the post office.

In a few weeks my son would be eighteen, time to sign up for Selective Service. I’d filled out forms for him for years, but this was different. This piece of paper could send him off to war. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

My Old Stuff — A Little Moldy, a Little Dusty, but Unlike Certain People It’s Still With Me

a pair of old alumunium crutches with disintegrating padding. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Things. They stay where you put them. They don’t talk back or upchuck on the Persian rug. They don’t require thank-you notes or post cards from Tahoe. I like my things. 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!

Barbara Falconer Newhall at age 75, one year after publication of Wrestling with God. the Big Seven-Five. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Shame of Aging: The Big Seven-Five Has Finally Arrived

Cover of the book "The Abundance" by Annie Dillard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

At the Feet of Annie Dillard, Memoirist, Essayist, Observer of the Real

The hills of California's Grapevine pass are dry and silvery gold in the drought winter of 2014. Photo by BF Newhall

For Wetter, For Drier — I’m Married to California

Poster with dark red background with figure of god Ganesh announcing the 2014 Himalayan Fair Berkeley.

To the Himalayas and Back — In a Day and Duty Free

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