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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

Oakland Tribune

Jury Duty Is a Lot Like Fourth-Grade Softball. Here’s Why

July 13, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Choose me for Jury duty at Superior Court of California. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Jury duty selection feels like 4th grade softball, when one’s very right to take up space on the planet depends on someone choosing, or not choosing, you. Read more.

Wisdom From My Father — Or, How to Sweep the Kitchen Floor

January 19, 2017 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The red David Falconer barn of my father near Scottville, Michigan. Photo by Barbara Newhall

“Think about what you are doing,” my father told me. “Use your head.” His advice still applies in a 21st-century world neither of us could have imagined.  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.

Oakland Tribune: The Trib Is Dead, Long Live the Tribbers

May 5, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

On April 4, 2016, former employees of the Oakland, California, Tribune, had a wake in honor of the paper's last day of publication. Photos by Barbara Newhall

The Oakland Tribune is dead. But dozens of Trib staffers live on. On the California paper’s last day, they gathered for a wake. Read more.

Kindergarten Looms for a 5-Year-Old and His Mom

February 11, 2016 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Peter, ready for his first day of kindergarten at Bentley School, September, 1986. Photo c 1986 B.F. Newhall

What is to become of a 5-year-old who won’t — can’t? — draw? This is not a frivolous question. Read more.

Mom With Kids — The Home Office Blues

November 12, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A 1986 home office with computer, crib, toddler and cat. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I liked being shoehorned into a 9-by-11-foot home office with three computers, a telephone, a cat, and a dear husband — most of the time. Read more.

The Center of the Universe Lives at Our House

October 29, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A newborn baby, a few weeks old, is held by his adoring parents. Barbara Newhall Photo

Children run the world. And everyone who’s ever had a kid knows it. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Case of the Human Condition: The Day She Popped the Question

Things were getting serious. My boyfriend had moved his goldfish into my apartment. I had returned from a long weekend to find that Jon had moved his dimestore pets from his place to mine. He was sheepish about this.

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!

fourth of july in pentwater michigan. people sit on curb awaiting the parade. photo by bf newhall

Photo Op: Pentwater, Michigan — A Small Town on a Big Lake

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Jon Was a Sports Fan. Am I?

jon-newhall-1976

A Leap Year Leap: She Asked. He Said Yes.

Huston Smith at Sagrada bookstore, oakland, ca. 2009. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Religion Scholar Huston Smith at 93 — ‘Be Happy!’

MORE DON'T MISS!

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