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Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South | Fourth of July

BY SEAN DIETRICH 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 the entire season. A summer without pound cake is like church without singing, Monet without color or...
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Sean of the South | The Tomato Elegy

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Thank you for the care package, Miss Paula. Thank you for the cute basket of homemade jams with handwritten labels. Do you know how long it’s been since I had mayhaw jelly? A long time.But most importantly, thank you for the...
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Sean of the South | The argument I had in the supermarket

OPINION — BY SEAN DIETRICH I got into an argument at the supermarket. This is how volatile our world is right now. It was in the checkout line. My opponent was not only clueless, but pigheaded, refusing all logic. The fact that my opponent is only 9 is no excuse.“I...
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Sean of the South | Vacation Bible Kids

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — “Dear Sean,” the email began. “I teach vacation Bible school… Last year we had three Latino children whose parents are undocumented immigrants…“Church leadership felt it best not to allow these children to attend VBS this year. It broke my...
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People next door

People next door

Feb 24, 2024

OPINION — Marie was a Waffle-House waitress with two kids. She smoked like a fish, worked like a trail horse, and was self-conscious about her...

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People next door

It’s Girl Scout season

Feb 18, 2024

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION —It’s Girl Scout-cookie season again, which traditionally begins right after deer season, and is followed by Lent.This is...

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People next door

Newsboy

Feb 11, 2024

OPINION — Newspapers have a smell. If you’re lucky enough to find a newspaper in our digital world, you’ll notice the smell first. Fresh newsprint...

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Brother John

Feb 2, 2024

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Pineview Street. A nondescript house. Off-white. One story. Nothing fancy. Nice neighborhood. Manicured lawns.On the back...

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America’s Aunt

Jan 25, 2024

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Nobody knows when it started. But it did. The first jar of pickles to appear on Aunt Bee’s grave in Siler City, North...

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Morning in Tuscaloosa

Jan 18, 2024

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — The plane landed in Tuscaloosa at 8:37 p.m. Central Time. Coach Kalen DeBoer deboarded.He was met with an entourage of...

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People next door

Uhhhh…

Jan 12, 2024

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — It’s a rainy night in Columbus, Georgia. I have an interview on the local evening news. This is a monumental occasion. My...

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More letters to Dear Sean

Jan 6, 2024

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — DEAR SEAN: All I want this year is for this girl in my third period class to go on a date with me, but she’s way out of...

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All the purty horses

Dec 27, 2023

BY SEAN DIETRICH The day before New Year’s Eve. I was stuck in Birmingham rush hour. A ten-mile line of standstill traffic stretched before me. It...

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