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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."

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

April 17, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

wait for me, I cried out to the speedy young woman dressed in pink and gray running clothes as she sped ahead of me. Photo by Barbara Newhall

 I was a tiny preschooler, pumping away on my tricycle, near tears because the big kids were leaving me behind. Today, I was a lot older — and left in the dust again. Read more. 

The Trouble With Daffodils — and My Writing

April 11, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Solo yellow and white daffodil. Photo by BF Newhall

The trouble with daffodils is they have no subtext. They are all cheer and sparkle and optimism. They are avatars of perky. They get on my nerves. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: When a Six-Year-Old Flies Solo

April 3, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

6-year-old boy dressed as cowboy. photo by barbara newhall

My mother-in-law was on the phone. Could my 6-year-old son Peter come to Southern California for a week’s visit with her? “A week?” I thought. Could I get along without my little son for a whole week? Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Four-Year-Old Girls — The Last Bastion of Pretty

March 27, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

four pretty preschool girls in tutus at the ballet barre. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Pink dresses. Powder blue dresses. Dresses with nosegays, kitty cats and sunbursts. Are little girls the last hold-outs for pretty these days? Read more.

Guest Post From Jon: Does “Under God” Belong in the Pledge of Allegiance?

March 13, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Does under God belong in the pledge? Downtown Pentwater Michigan village on 4th of July with people sitting on curb waiting for the parade. Photo by BF Newhall

Jon was shocked when a Federal Appeals Court ruled that including “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance did not violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. Read more.

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

March 6, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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.

Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder – But What If There’s No Beholder?

February 27, 2010 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Half-hidden flowering tree comes into view. Photo by BF Newhall

A flowering tree grows hidden in the canyon below our house. If no one sees it bloom, is it beautiful? Without a beholder, can there be beauty? Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

For China’s Young Fashionistas the Cultural Revolution Is So Over

Two teenaged Chinese girls getting their picture taken in Beijing. One has dyed her hair orange.

Until very recently, when I thought of China, I didn’t think of fun. I thought of the Cultural Revolution of the ’60s and ’70s, when traditional Chinese men were forced to cut off their queues, and intellectuals were banished to the countryside to till the soil and be reeducated into the proletariat.

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!

barbara-falconer-newhall-writer-FB-page

Am I an Artist? Or Am I a Brand?

old-man-working-out-at-gym

Widowed: It’s Jon the Old Guy I Miss the Most

white blossoms of flowering tree up close

Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder – But What If There’s No Beholder?

Cover of "Dog Medicine," a memoir by Julie Barton, Think Piece Press, 2015.

‘Dog Medicine’ — A Dog-Lover’s Journey From Depression to Health

MORE DON'T MISS!

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