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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
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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 Writing Room: Two Must-Have Craft Journals for the Literary Writer

March 30, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

craft journals. books on shelf by john gardener, sands hall, strunk and white, noah lukeman, robert mckee, theodore m bernstein, stephen koch, susan shaughnessy. Photo by Barbara Falconer NewhallOf all the books and magazines that come my way each week, my favorites are the ones that talk about writing — like Poets & Writers and Writer’s Chronicle. Read more.

A Mother Who Prevailed at Auschwitz

March 23, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Stones left on the wall of the Dohany Street Synagogue, Budapest, in memory of Jews lost in the Shoah. Photo by Barbara Newhall

When Ernie Hollander’s family arrived at Auschwitz in 1944, his mother was ordered to the right, his sisters to the left. Read more.

A Case of the Human Condition: Choose Me, Please!

March 16, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Jury summons. Barbara Falconer Newhall was summoned for jury duty.. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jury duty is a lot like fourth grade softball. Something in me wants to be on the team. If there is choosing going on, I want to be among the chosen. Read more.

Geoff Machin — We Go Looking for God, When We Could Be Having a Beer

February 27, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Geoff Machin -- science is obvious. God, not so much. The Sombrero Galaxy, NASA. NASA & STScI photo. copyright@stsci.edu

Humans are the only living things that know they exist & ask why. We’d have more fun if we didn’t ask so many questions, just go to the beach & have a beer. Read more.

How Selective Service Made a Man of My Son — Without Even Trying

February 23, 2009 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The 1998 Selective Service pamphlet -- I left it at the post office.

In a few weeks my son would be eighteen, time to sign up for Selective Service. I’d filled out forms for him for years, but this was different. This piece of paper could send him off to war. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Breaking News: The Afterlife Is ‘Fantastic’

the afterlife is fantastic
This just in — the afterlife is “fantastic.” That’s the news from Jon. And he should know, he’s been in the afterlife since February. 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!

man-on-recumbent-bike

Talk to My Deceased Husband? I Can’t Do It

Stalk of overgrown dracena marginata cut back -- on an angle -- so that the stalk can grow new leaves. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Dracena Is Dead. Long Live the Dracena

Cover of the book "Trump's America: The Complete Loser's Guide," by Scott Dikkers.

Jesus Was a Loser — Does That Make Donald Trump a Winner?

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall wears a khaki Mao hat with numerous Mao buttons in Beijing. Photo by BF Newhall

Xi’An to TX and Mao to LBJ — I’ve Been Traveling and I’m Back

MORE DON'T MISS!

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