• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • WRESTLING WITH GOD BOOK
  • CONTACT

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."

Widowed. I’m Fine Until It’s Time to Go Home

June 18, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

widowed I'm fine until it's time to go home

A day-long hike at Pt. Reyes keeps my mind off the fact that I’m widowed — and I’m fine until it’s time to go home.  Read more.

Jon Was a Sports Fan. Am I?

June 4, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

steph-curry a fave with sports fans

Jon loved sports. I didn’t. But I did love Jon, and he was a sports fan, so I followed his teams. Now that he’s gone, am I still a sports fan? Read more.

Did Covid Kill My Husband? Was He ‘Collateral Damage’ of the Pandemic?

May 28, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 16 Comments

did covid kill my husband? emergency-room-sign

Covid-19 has killed 1,000,000 Americans. How many additional, collateral casualties were there? Was Jon one of them? Did Covid kill my husband?  Read more.

There’s a Pollinator in My Pollinator Garden

May 21, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 17 Comments

woodland-skipper-butterfly

The columbine, the statice and the armeria had been planted only a week earlier, but already there was a pollinator in my pollinator garden.  Read more.

The Abortion Wars: Forcing a Woman to Continue a Pregnancy Is a Form of Assault

May 7, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 15 Comments

the-abortion-wars pregnant-woman

Requiring a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term is an assault on her agency as a person. It’s also literally an assault on her body.  Read more.

Widowed: A Love Letter From Jon Arrived This Week

April 30, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

widowed-a-love-letter-from-Jon-my-husband

I’m widowed and a love letter from Jon, my husband, arrived this week — in the form of the house we bought and built together.  Read more.

Comedian Robert Morse – Dead at 90. Very Much Alive at 36

April 23, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

comedian robert morse in a Clip from Man Men TV show showing Robert Morse singing and dancing with secretaries.

The last time I saw comedian Robert Morse he was a young guy, a fireball. It was 1967 and he was working the crowd on the set of a TV show.  Read more.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 16
  • Page 17
  • Page 18
  • Page 19
  • Page 20
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 80
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

GET MY Riffs on Life BY EMAIL

True stories often told through a humorous lens–because you just can't make them up!

We respect your privacy and do not share your email with anyone.

 

LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

I’m Going to Be a Grandmother — Or Will I Be a Grannie? A Grandma? A Nana?

1943 summer Nana Georgie Morrison & Barbara Ann Falconer. Photo by DG Falconer

What shall I call myself? Something tried and true like Grandma, Grannie, Nana, or Grandmother Newhall? Or should I revive one of my childhood nicknames — Bobbie or Fanny? 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!

Copy of a painting of Madonna and Child by Benozzo Gozzoli, 1420-1497. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

Visions of the Baby Jesus Light Up Centuries of Art

Christmas-gifts

I’m Getting Ready to Die. Just in Case. Sheltering at Home Week 40

toddlers-1941

We Humans Are Ineffable

farmers-maret

We Are Pushing 80 — Do We Stay Out of Supermarkets? Sheltering at Home Day 5

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2025 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in