Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South | A day at the dog park

OPINION — My truck cab was filled with three barking dogs and one idiot. The dogs were in the backseat. The idiot was behind the wheel. “Sit down!” the idiot kept saying. But my dogs do not sit when I drive. They never sit. They dutifully explore their space...

Sean of the South | Providence

OPINION —The old timers in my childhood used a word I never understood. The word was “Providence.” The old timers couldn’t give me an exact definition of this word. Probably because it had more than two syllables.To be fair, Providence truly is a difficult word to...

Sean of the South | The Marriage crisis

OPINION —Marriages are down 60% since the ‘70s. Divorce rates are soaring. And the New York Times reported that more 40-year-olds are choosing to live alone than ever before.Another recent survey of U.S. high-schoolers showed that the age of 12th graders who have ever...

Sean of the South | God rest ye merry columnist

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION —A supermarket checkout line. Cheesy holiday music is playing overhead. Not the fun kind of cheesy music, but the kind once heard in Kmart á la 1973.There is an old man at the head of our long checkout line, standing at the register. He digs...

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Dec 23, 2025

OPINION — The snow in West Virginia clings to the world like shaving cream, covering every surface, every automotive hood, every interstate...

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Sean of the South | How Amazon stole Christmas

Dec 16, 2025

OPINION —The story was told to me by a former deliveryman named John.The Christmas season was the busiest time of year for delivery-persons. Drivers...

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Sean of the South | Christmas signs

Dec 9, 2025

OPINION —Tony James stood holding a cardboard sign on the street corner, caught in the cold drizzle.Damp clothes. Sun-beaten skin. Moving around to...

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Sean of the South | A Thanksgiving to remember

Dec 2, 2025

OPINION — Wake up early. Still dark outside. It is 30-odd degrees on Lake Martin and I can’t feel my unmentionables. The 1940s cabin is poorly...

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Sean of the South | Happy Thanksgiving

Nov 24, 2025

OPINION —It’s a few minutes until Thanksgiving. I thought I’d stay up and watch the clock change. I’m sipping tea, listening to gentle music playing...

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Sean of the South | My two cents

Nov 18, 2025

OPINION — The last penny has been minted. The humble American “pence” shall be no more. It’s too expensive to produce. It just doesn’t make sense....

Sean of the South | This Veteran’s Day

Sean of the South | This Veteran’s Day

Nov 11, 2025

OPINION —Boaz is a town about as big as your average water heater closet. It was a quiet night. The sun had set. Houses were lit from the...

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Sean of the South | Challenge Accepted

Nov 4, 2025

OPINION — KAILUA, Hawaii — It’s dark outside. It’s late. Or is it early? Hard to remember. Been a long day.Here she comes. Jogging. People are...

Sean of the South | Almost Heaven, Charlie Brown

Sean of the South | The Loneliest Generation

Oct 21, 2025

OPINION — Sixty-one percent of American adults say they’re lonely. Sixty-one percent. Think about that. You probably missed this information, but...

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