I got a close-up look at the polygamous Darger family, three wives, one husband, who inspired the TV series “Big Love.” Read more.
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."
Tinka Falconer: Her Ninety-Three Years
Here’s an obituary for my mother, Tinka Falconer, who died in December. Read more.
The Writing Room: My Book’s Almost Done, Sorta
[caption id="attachment_4618" align="aligncenter" width="450"]
My computer monitor the day before my mother broke her hip and brought progress on my book to a halt for a year. Photo by Barbara Newhall[/caption]
My computer monitor the day before my mother broke her hip and brought progress on my book to a halt for a year. Photo by Barbara Newhall[/caption]
My book is close to done. I’ve been working on it for nigh on to 13 years now. Can’t imagine what it will feel like to have it done-ish. Read more.
The Writing Room: Write About My Aging Mother? I Don’t Think So . . .
Ten reasons why I’m finding it impossible to write about my 92-year-old mother, even though she’s all I can think about right now . . . .
A Case of the Human Condition: A Half Century Later I’m Still a Size 10 . . . OK, 12
I wore a size 10 in high school way back in 1959 and a size 12 in college. That was twenty plus pounds ago, but I can still squeeze into size 10 (or 12) jeans. Am I remembering my young self all wrong? Read more.
A Manners-Challenged Kid Who Became the Apple of His Grandma’s Eye
“Move,” said my 6-year-old son Peter to his grandmother. “I want to get by.” My mother looked up from her book and gave my son a hard look. Read more.
The Hagia Sophia: Where Christianity and Islam Coexist — and Clash
As an American Christian, I’d never known how it feels to have my faith’s most cherished symbols obliterated by a colonizing force. Until I entered the Hagia Sophia. Read more.