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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
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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."

The American Flag Is Flying in My Liberal, Elitist, San Francisco Bay Area Neighborhood Today. Here’s Why.

July 4, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Stars and Stripes. A man hangs the American flag on the front of his house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

‘The right wingers don’t own the American flag flag,’ I said as my husband hung the Stars and Stripes from our garage. ‘It’s my flag too.’ Read more.

For One Night I Was Important Again. Thank You Armistead Maupin

June 22, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I was important at the cast party for "The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, San Francisco, June 15, 2017. Barbara Falconer Newhall and Jonathan Groff of TV show "Looking." Photo by Jon Newhall

At a party for “The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin” I discovered I was important enough to score quality time with the likes of Jonathan Groff. Read more.

A Dream About Wrestling With — Uh, Who Was That Anyway?

June 8, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A dream about wrestling. Detail of a column in the Wurzburg Cathedral, shaped in a knot. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I had a dream about wrestling the other night. Was it a message from my deep psyche — or the heights of heaven? Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Would My Husband Like to Add My Name to His?

May 29, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Jon whose middle name is still not Falconer after 35 years of not being Jon Falconer Newhall -- cooking dinner for my birthday in 2011. He's still comfortable in the kitchen and at the supermarket. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

When Jon and I married, I wanted to share a name with him and our future children. I took his last name. Would he like to take mine as his middle name? Read more.

They Did It — They Got Married (And the Bride Was Beautiful)

May 18, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The bride was beautiful. A crystal headpiece set off Christina Newhall's short dark hair on her wedding day in May. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The bride was beautiful. The setting was exquisite. The band kept everyone jumping. Everything a mother of the bride could hope for. Read more.

A Chance to Get Acquainted With That Muslim Next Door

May 4, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Sumbul Ali-Karamali, author of "The Muslim Next Door"

Two days after September 11, a friend warned Sumbul Ali-Karamali, a Muslim American, that she should display an American flag outside her house. Ali-Karamali, is author of “The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and that Veil Thing.” Read more.

Mother-of-the-Bride Dress: What, Oh, What Do I Wear to My Daughter’s Wedding?

April 27, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

smoke blue mother-of-the-bride dress. Photo by Barbara Newhall
Figure flaws? I’m going to wear them proudly — with the help of just the right mother-of-the-bride dress. Here are my final four choices. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Cataract Chronicles: I’ll Be Seeing Me

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall takes a photo of herself without glasses before cataract surgery to see what she'll look like. Photo by Barbara Newhall

One of the perks of having lots of years under your belt is that one fine day you get to have your cataracts done — and you get your old face back. 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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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!

cover of the vhs version of the disney movie, cinderella

Scrubbing the Floor With My Daughter Cinderella

JON-NEWHALL

Widowed: The Things My Husband Wanted. (Or, We Are What We Want)

a young woman dressed in pink and gray running clothes warms up on a street corner. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Wait for Me! (Keeping up With the Twenty-Somethings)

A father and his son play in a swimming pool in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Day Our Son Didn’t Drown — Family Stories

MORE DON'T MISS!

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