Sean Dietrich Articles

Columnists’ Day

BY SEAN DIETRICH I didn’t believe him. I thought he was pulling my leg or similar appendage. I was at the airport bar. He told me April 18 was National Columnists’ Day.“Surely you’re joking,” I said.“Nope,” he said. “And don’t call me Shirley.”The bartender pulled us...

About today

Hi. You don’t know me. I don’t know you. We’re strangers. But we’re the same, sort of. Only chances are, you drive a nicer car than I do. In fact I guarantee you drive a nicer car.I drive a 25-year-old truck. The tailgate is rusted, there is a prodigious layer of dog...

Easter

BY SEAN DIETRICH A few years ago I attended my first Catholic mass in a busy church outside Birmingham. It was Easter Sunday. I sat in the nosebleed section.People greeted me with the words, “He’s risen.”And because I was not raised under a rock, I answered with:...

Dollar General

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — The following actually happened. In a major American city. A guy emailed me about it.A young woman is in Dollar General. A mother of two. Shopping. She has her kids in tow. They are dressed in ragged clothes that look like they’ve been...
AFRAID

AFRAID

By SEAN DIETRICH Nighttime. I’m driving a two-lane highway. I like two-lanes. I like old fence posts. Old barns. I like all sorts of things. I like...

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To You

By SEAN DIETRICH Hi. We hardly know each other. And I know this won’t mean much coming from a stranger like me, but I have to say it: I’m sorry for...

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THANKS

By SEAN DIETRICH Thank you for holding the door for an old woman at Cracker Barrel. You must’ve been fourteen, you were with friends. You were...

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Friends

By SEAN DIETRICH It’s late night. She’s driving on an empty highway. The radio is playing something lively. She’s heading toward South Carolina. A...

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The Opry

By SEAN DIETRICH Iremember going to see the Grand Ole Opry as a boy. My father drove through the busy city of Nashville. I was five, he was...

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RISE

By SEAN DIETRICH I am on the beach alone. I am watching the sun lift itself high above the horizon, driving the dark away. The blue-purple morning...

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Otis Campbell

By SEAN DIETRICH Currently, as I write this, a dog is sleeping on my feet. His name is Otis Campbell. He is black and white, 90 pounds, a Capricorn...

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HASH BROWNS

By SEAN DIETRICH Waffle House was slow. It was late when we pulled in. We needed hash browns. Stat. My wife and I walked into the arctic air of the...

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The Storm

By SEAN DIETRICH Well, the hurricane is approaching. It’s morning, and the first thing I hear in my mother-in-law’s house is the blaring Weather...

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