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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
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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Need some levity? Read on!

My Husband’s Name or Mine? I Need Them Both

February 18, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

my husband's name or mine? my maiden name has its stories, including a 1960s-girl-swimmer

My husband’s name or mine? I need them both — the name I was born with and the one I took the day I married.  Read more.

‘It’s Not My Jam’ — Is Not My Jam. Of Course, It Isn’t. I’m 81 Years Old, for Heaven’s Sake

February 4, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

community-of-writers

People in the know were saying, ‘It’s not my jam.’ A product of the 20th century, I was sticking to, ‘It’s not my cup of tea.’  Read more.

The Little Tug That Could — Cross an Ocean. Scott Newhall and the Eppleton Hall

January 21, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

scott-newhall-eppleton-hall-captain

Scott Newhall and the Eppleton Hall: A doughty San Francisco crew sails an English paddlewheel across the Atlantic and on to California.  Read more.

My New Year’s Resolution — Do Less. Not More. Subtract!

January 14, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

rock-path-garden

Now that I’m widowed, my to-do lists are twice as long as they used to be. So I’m turning tradition on its head and making my New Year’s resolution — do less!  Read more.

Betty Rollin on How to Talk to a Widow

December 3, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

Betty Rollin on what to say to a widow. I say ask her about her new rock-garden-path

Betty Rollin on how to talk to a widow: Betty says don’t assume she’s over it just because a year has gone by. I say, ask me about my garden. Read more.

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

October 22, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

old-man-on-his-deck

Widowed, I miss Jon the old guy of our last years together — when it had become clear we’d be sticking together till death did us part.  Read more.

I’m Thanking People a Lot These Days. Why Is That?

October 15, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

thanking people, including the man-power-washing-deck

I notice that I’ve been thanking people a lot lately. People — not God, not the Universe, not “the force that through the green fuse drives the flower.”  Read more. 

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Weight Lifting Can Kill You — Shall I Email the News to My Weight-Lifting Son?

Peter Newhall, a young man in his 30s, bench presses at a gym. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Weight lifting can kill you. Death by dead lift and dumbbell can sneak up on you long after you’ve put the weights back in the squat rack. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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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!

Sue Mary Fox with the colorful calico crazy quilt she completed in her Berkeley studio for Barbara Falconer Newhall. Photo by Barbara Newhall

A Crazy-Making Crazy Quilt — Finished at Last

Facade and steeple of the First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, Michigan. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, Michigan — Last Stop on My One-Woman Road Trip

Tori Isner, Poet: ‘You Are a Vehicle for Spirit’

Tinka Falconer on the exercise bike after broken hip.

The Writing Room: Write About My Aging Mother? I Don’t Think So . . .

MORE DON'T MISS!

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