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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

Widowed

Jon died unexpectedly at the age of 79. I thought we'd have many more years together. We won't.

Widowed: Some Thoughts Before Election Day — From Jon

November 2, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

thoughts before election day jon-newhall-with-american-flag

Thoughts before election day: My husband’s 2010 opinion piece on the Pledge of Allegiance assumed a social trust that’s since gone missing in America.  Read more.

I’m 83 and I’m Dumping My Bucket List

September 28, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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.

Three Photos That Bring My Husband Back to Life. And One That Doesn’t

September 21, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

photos that bring my husband back to life huband-now-deceased--waiting-in-airport

Now and then I come across a photo that brings my husband back to life, and for one sweet moment, Jon is there in all his ineffable Jon-ness.  Read more.

Widowed: I’ve Been Writing a Memoir in Essays All This Time

September 14, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

memoir in essays widowed

For three-plus years, I’ve been writing blog posts about being widowed. Do I have the makings of a memoir in essays?  Read more.

Widowed: Jon’s Memorial Tree Is Thriving — Both of Them

August 17, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

memorial tree madrone-sapling-with-secure-dee-cage

The memorial tree planted in my husband’s honor is thriving — both of them. Madrones are fussy, so we planted two to be on the safe side.  Read more.

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

August 10, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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.

Widowed: My Husband Is Missing Out — On the Sight of Two Galaxies Dancing in Space

July 13, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

NASA-dual-galaxies

I’ve been widowed three years. My husband has missed out on a lot in that time, including a parade of images from the Webb Space Telescope. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Scrubbing the Floor With My Daughter Cinderella

cover of the vhs version of the disney movie, cinderella

There was no getting around it. Christina, who is 51/2, intended to wash our kitchen floor. She had been studying her “Cinderella” videotape for weeks, and now she wanted nothing more than to scrub. Read more

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
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  • 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!

Multicolored Tibetan prayer flags strung on a rope fly at the Himalayan Fair Berkelely 2014. Photo by BF Newhall

Why Pray? — Some Thoughts from Karen Armstrong

Flu virus -- the real thing -- photographed by the CDC.

A (Contagious) Case of the Human Condition: How a Mother of Preschool Kids Outsmarts the Mighty Microbe

ten year old boy in baseball uniform catches the ball. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Kids Who Cheat. And Those Who Don’t

Loreen Niewenhuis trekking across sand beach. Niewenhuis photo.

Walk 1000 Miles Around Lake Michigan? She Did It — Now I Don’t Have To

MORE DON'T MISS!

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