Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South | The problem with fear

OPINION — I woke up thinking about you. There I was, at 4:41 a.m., sitting in my living room, wondering about you. I heard the doctor gave you bad news. And I couldn’t help but imagine how afraid you must be. Fear is a curse. A primal heirloom, passed down...

Sean of the South | Where you come from

OPINION — There was an old man sitting outside the dusty bar. He sat in a plastic lawn chair. There was a dog with him. The dog was either asleep or dead. He was whittling a stick for no reason — the old man, not the dog. This is what old men did before TikTok....

Sean Dietrich | The checkout lane

OPINION — He was loading my grocery bags. I’ll call him Michael. He was early twenties, wearing an apron. He has Down syndrome.“How are you today?” he said.“Pretty good,” said I.“So am I!” he said. “I’m doing pretty good, too!”I smiled. “How about that.”The cashier...

Sean of the South | Therefore, consider the turtle

OPINION — Jim was stuck. In the middle of the rural two-lane highway. Right there on the pavement. Not far from the solid yellow line. Tucked tightly in his shell. Scared to death.Vehicles sped past little Jim, on both sides, shooting by with the deafening roars of...

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Aug 18, 2026

OPINION — There was an old man sitting outside the dusty bar. He sat in a plastic lawn chair. There was a dog with him. The dog was either asleep or...

Sean of the South | Going through old photos

Sean of the South | Going through old photos

Aug 3, 2026

OPINION — I found old photographs in the attic. I rifled through hundreds of old Polaroids. Most were infant pictures of me naked.I was a fat baby....

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Sean of the South | My little school

Jul 28, 2026

OPINION — It was late. I pulled into the campus after seven o’clock to attend my last class of the semester. My last college class. Ever. It was a...

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Sean of the South | Scents and sensibility

Jul 21, 2026

OPINION — I used to write about her all the time. She was just so easy to write about.From the first moment I met Thelma Lou, when she was an...

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Sean of the South | Chasing imperfection in a wax-covered world

Jul 14, 2026

OPINION —The bag of vegetables magically appeared on our front porch along with beer. I looked around for angels and wisemen.Then I turned to my...

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Sean of the South | Recess on the road

Jul 7, 2026

OPINION —I am in the backseat of our van, sitting in a tiny, hollowed-out cavern of stuff.We [were] traveling to Tennessee and Kentucky [last]...

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Sean of the South | Fourth of July

Jun 30, 2026

OPINION —On my kitchen counter is a pound cake, sitting on a pedestal, beneath a glass dome.Pound cake is the food of summer. It can make or break...

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Sean of the South | Juneteenth

Jun 23, 2026

OPINION —The year is 1923. It is the middle of June. You are a kid in a seersucker suit, on your way to a picnic. The weather is hot. Sweltering,...

Sean of the South | Where you come from

Sean of the South | Father’s Day

Jun 15, 2026

OPINION —I thought of you a few days ago. I was driving past a controlled burn. The fire department had lit up half of the lower Alabamian forest....

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