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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."

There’s a Pollinator in My Pollinator Garden

May 21, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

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

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

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.

Pete Holmes, Stephen Colbert (and God) on Life and Death

April 16, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Pete Holmes, Stephen Colbert -- and God. A memorial-candle-on-the-altar

At Easter Christians celebrate Jesus’s resurrection — Jesus was dead, and then he wasn’t. Was Jon dead, and then not?  Read more.

Am I Too Old to Lose That Weight? My Doctor Says I Am

April 9, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

 too old to lose that weight? using-the-bathroom-scale

Is my doctor giving up on me now that I’ve turned 80? Does he think I don’t have many good years left — and I’m too old to lose that weight?  Read more.

Zelensky’s TV Show — What ‘Servant of the People’ Says About Ukraine

April 2, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

zelensky's tv show servant-of-the-people-riding-bike

Volodymyr Zelensky’s TV show — a comedy — explains a lot. Like why the Ukrainian people did not roll over and play dead for Putin. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

When a Grown Daughter Doesn’t Call — Or, How to Overmother a Twenty-Something

Christina Newhall with cell phone. Photo by BF Newhall

Christina hadn’t called. We had dropped her at the airport hours ago. The flight to Burbank takes only seventy minutes. She should be home by now. But Jon and I still hadn’t gotten the, “I’m home. The plane didn’t crash. My roommate remembered to pick me up, and we didn’t get mugged in the garage,” phone call. 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!

A christmas tree with lights, decorations and gifts piled up below. Photo by BF Newhall

It’s August, But It’s Not Too Soon to Wonder — Can Christmas Be Christmas Without the Kids?

My grandmorther's pince-nez with gold chain, hairpin and laminated metal case from J.H. Chinnery, optometrist, Scottville, Michigan. Photo by Barbara Newhall

‘Tis the Season to Declutter. Or Is It?

TINKA-FALCONER

The Darkening Days — And My Mother’s Last Hours

alta-bates-summit-medical-center

Widowed: Did He Die in Anguish?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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