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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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  • FUNNY BUTTON

photo ops

What Makes Me Happy? Having a Happy Kid, of Course

July 2, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

what makes me happy.  Our-son-and-grandchild

What makes me happy? Catching one of my kids in a moment of real time happiness. Like my son holding his newborn for the first time.   Read more.

The Oakland Tribune Tower — A 1923 Structure With a Twenty-First Century View

June 2, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

the view from the Oakland Tribune Tower. In the foreground, the Bank of America Building. In the background, the 1111 Broadway and the Clorox Building. In the distance, the Bay Bridge. Photos by Barbara Newhall

As a reporter, I was never invited to the lofty heights of the Oakland Tribune Tower. On the paper’s last day of publication I finally got my chance. Read more.

What a Tulip Can Do — If You Ask It

March 31, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

11th Annual Tower Chapel Tulip Exhibition, Mouintain View Cemetery, Oakland, CA "BUBBLIN TULIPS," HOWARD J. ARENDTSON, H JULIEN DESIGNS, BERKELEY. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Floral designers showed off what a tulip can do — if you ask it nicely — at the Annual Tulip Exhibition at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, California. Read more.

Winter in the Midwest — When Trees Bare Their Souls

March 10, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Tree bark with green lichen in winter. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Can trees bare their souls? Do they have souls? Does anybody?

A Midwestern Flower Garden — Beautifully Dead In the Dead of Winter

March 4, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A snow-covered Midwestern flower garden in winter with dead leaves and twigs from last year's flowers. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I couldn’t wait to head outdoors to see how my favorite flower garden was faring under a half foot of snow and temperatures below zero. Read more.

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

October 2, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

I’d sung in the choir and been confirmed at the First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. And now I was invited to read from “Wrestling with God.” Read more.

I Searched for Jesus, and Here’s What I Found

December 25, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A life-sized baby Jesus doll on sale laies on the pavement at the Mercado in San Miguel de Allende. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Christmas was coming and I needed a Christmassy, Jesusy post. I went to my photo gallery — where else?– and I searched for Jesus. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

At the Feet of Annie Dillard, Memoirist, Essayist, Observer of the Real

A well-read copy of"The Abundance" by Annie Dillard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

What draws me to author Annie Dillard — what makes me want to turn off the TV and grab one of her books — is her eagle-sharp eye for the world as it truly is. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • 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!

patriotic holiday gifts might include an American flag like this one in Pentwater, MI. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Fifteen Patriotic Holiday Gifts for the Worried Progressives on Your List

jack kornfield. Photo by robert vente

Buddhist Teacher Jack Kornfield on Sex, Drugs and Enlightenment

SXSW: Quirky, Lovable Austin, Texas

telephone-wires

The Lost Art of the Telephone Conversation — Here’s What Happened to It. Sheltering at Home Week 14

MORE DON'T MISS!

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