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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

DON'T MISS!

I've written hundreds and hundreds of posts over the years. To help you find your way to the best of the best, I've tagged my favorites "Don't Miss!" Scroll down here to find them.

Another way to locate Riffs on Life that you might enjoy is to click above on your favorite category – "My Ever-Changing Family," perhaps, or "Funny Button." You can also use the search box located way up top to hunt for stories by topic. There's fun reading at "garden," "aging," "kids" and, of course, "Jon."

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

December 2, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

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 Leave a Comment

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.

TV or Not TV: The Week We Turned Off Our 1980s Go-To Screen

November 25, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

TV or not TV? boy-with-stick

TV or Not TV? In 1987 the go-to screen for exasperated moms looking for a way to distract rambunctious kids was — the television set.  Read more.

Change Happens. It Just Does

November 11, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

A flowering trees buds out in February 2013 in California. Photo by BF Newhall

I’m Old. And Here’s What I Like About That

October 21, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

I'm old king-ferdinand-II-Leon

I’m old. And what I like most about that is — I’m not in the thick of things anymore. I don’t have to be. I’ve got other things to do.  Read more.

Is Hamas Evil? Is Anybody Evil? Am I? Are You?

October 14, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

joe-biden-speaks-Is-anybody-evil

Is anybody truly evil? Is Hamas? Am I? Are you? Or are we humans evolved — created? — to be sometimes kind, sometimes cruel?  Read more.

A Name for Grandma

September 30, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

a name for grandma

What’s a good name for a grandma? No cute nicknames for me. If I was to be a grandmother, I wanted the time-honored title that goes with it.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Revisiting My First Blog Post Ever — How the Selective Service Made a Man of My Son

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

The powers that be at the Selective Service System were after my son. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
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  • On Writing & Reading
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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!

The Writing Room: If It’s Religious, Can It Be Art?

obsolete-tech-books

Widowed: My Husband’s Stuff Is Still Here. I’ve Got My Reasons

Red, red berries in a garden in autumn in the upper midwest. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Autumn in the Garden, When Sensible Plants Pack It In for the Winter . . . And a Healing Ankle

17-foot pilot whale Koko swimns close to reporter barbara falconer newhall at Marine World-Africa USA in 1979. San Francisco Chronicle photo by John O'Hara

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

MORE DON'T MISS!

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