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Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South: A ‘Dear Sean’ letter

BY SEAN DIETRICH The email came from someone named Paxton.“Dear Sean,” the message began, “my dog died today and I feel like I can’t go on. I know you‘ve lost a dog before. How do you go on without them?”As it happens, I have lost 12 dogs in my life. Twelve sounds...
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An American in Rome

BY SEAN DIETRICH Rome, Italy. The sun is rising over the City of Seven Hills. I am sitting at a cafe, not far from our hotel, editing a column on a yellow legal pad. I am here for breakfast, waiting for my wife to wake up.The Colosseum is just down the street. The old...
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Beulah Land

BY SEAN DIETRICH The man had a dream. In this dream, he died. It happened so quickly he almost didn’t know life was over. One minute he was alive; the next, poof, he was organic fertilizer.He went to Beulah Land. And it was the whole heavenly enchilada. Everything...
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All Dogs Go to Heaven

BY SEAN DIETRICH It was dark. The young dishwasher was on break. He was sitting behind the restaurant, out by the dumpster, tapping a carton of Camels on his palm.Like all dishwashers, he worked hard for junk pay. He was the first one there. The last one to leave. He...
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Good

May 4, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH He was tall, lean and young. When he approached me, he hugged me. Then, his mother hugged us both. A three-person club sandwich. He...

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Jackie

Jackie

Apr 28, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH The old man answered the phone. “Is this Herschel?” I asked him. I heard a loud TV playing in the background. A dog was barking....

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Jackie

Ghost

Apr 20, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH I thought I saw you today. I was walking through a crowded place. A Trader Joe’s, if you can imagine. You bumped into my shoulder....

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Jackie

Neighbor

Apr 13, 2022

My phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, so I answered. I expected to be greeted with an automated voice, delivering exciting information about...

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Good

Good

Apr 6, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH With all the important problems going on in the world — the war in Ukraine, political upheavals and Oscar Award winners assaulting...

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Good

Push Up Pops

Mar 30, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH I was maybe 5 years old when I had my first encounter with an ice cream truck. It was a late 70s model Chevy Step-Van, rolling...

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Good

Alabama Rain

Mar 23, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH It’s raining in central Alabama. I am on my porch, barefoot, watching the rainfall, hypnotized by the sound. Rain can do strange...

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Three Colors

Mar 16, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH I hung an American flag on our house today. We just moved in. We have only been living in Birmingham for three days, but I thought...

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Good

Continental Breakfast

Mar 9, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH The old man in the crowded hotel dining room was wearing dual hearing aids. He smiled and greeted me with a voice that was loud...

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