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Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South

Relax, you're going to be okay You’re going to be okay. That’s not an opinion. It’s not a guess. This isn’t some trite little catchphrase from some crappy motivational book that reads like it was written by a greasy televangelist.You’re going to be okay. It’s the...
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The 11-year-old in the house

BY SEAN DIETRICH There is a little girl in my house. She is 11. She is currently playing piano in my office. She is blind, so she plays by feel. She has no idea what she’s doing on the instrument. But she actually sounds pretty good.I do not have kids. I’m not a smart...
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From the files of ‘Dear Sean’

BY SEAN DIETRICH DEAR SEAN:I’m not sure what to do. My teenage son died in an accident three years ago. … A few months ago one of his good friends started hanging out at our house…We’ve become really close. He doesn’t have a very present mother. And I find myself...
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Sean of the South – The Checkout Lane

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 was...
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Good

Good

Aug 10, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH Late afternoon. The grocery store was busy. It was a big weekend, hurried customers played demolition derby with shopping carts. I...

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Sunrise

Sunrise

Aug 4, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH I’m writing this in the early morning. The birds are asleep, the crickets, too. The sun is about to rise, and it’s going to rise...

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Good

Country Music

Jul 27, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH A no-name beer joint. Just off the highway. Somewhere outside Atlanta. Glowing Coors signs. Un-level pool tables. I had been...

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Good

Dear God

Jul 20, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH A potluck. A little church in the sticks. There were maybe 50 people at the covered-dish social. Attendees were of all ages. All...

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Good

The Sandwich

Jul 13, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH Do this. Get a tomato. Not just any tomato. A Slocomb, Alabama, tomato. Make sure the tomato is firecracker-red and softer than the...

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Sunrise

Tough

Jul 6, 2022

SEAN DIETRICH Three of us sat beside Mama’s above-ground pool, out in the wilds of Black Creek. We were beneath a dollar-store umbrella, and a...

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Good

The Ballad of Bubs McFee

Jun 29, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH New York Harbor, 1885. Only 20 years after the Civil War. New York was the epicenter of the world. Bubs McFee had traveled all the...

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Sunrise

DOG

Jun 22, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH I have here a letter from a friend which reads, “My beagle of 14 years has died. I don’t know what I should do. Tell me what I...

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Sunrise

Thank You

Jun 15, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you. That’s it. You don’t get thanked nearly enough for all you do. And I’m here to correct...

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