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Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South | Shaking your butt

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Mount Airy. The Earle Theater was crowded, the room smelled of popcorn, and I was onstage shaking my butt.I don’t mean to say I was shaking my hindparts metaphorically. But worse, I was actually shaking them.Namely, because derriere-shaking...
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Sean of the South | My “dumb phone”

My phone finally arrives in the mail. It’s small. Ugly. It’s “dumb.” And it looks like it was invented during the Herbert Hoover administration. This phone is incapable of performing any task greater than making phone calls or serving as a doorstop. Hopefully, this...
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Sean of the South | On life and Heinz ketchup

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — I miss glass bottles. I come from a generation of glass.And therein lies a fundamental difference between my generation and the current one.Glass bottles were everywhere. Glass packaging contained everything from mayonnaise to Bayer aspirin....
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Sean of the South | A few things I love about America

OPINION —  A mericans are arguing right now. And believe me, I get it. There is a lot going on. Everyone has differences of opinion. But I wondered if we Americans couldn’t put aside our disagreements for a moment, and agree on a few things we love.  I’ll...
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In the Air

In the Air

Mar 22, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH A crowded plane. I had an aisle seat. The guy beside me was snorting. I say “snorting” because he was actually making swine-like...

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In the Air

Mother’s Love

Mar 15, 2023

“I am a little old woman who lives in an assisted living facility…” her email began.  Her following message was about the length of “War and...

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In the Air

Dancers

Mar 8, 2023

The little girl sits in a hospital room.  She lives here. In this bed. In this university hospital. She lives in this gown. She usually plays...

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In the Air

Ash Wednesday

Mar 2, 2023

Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent. I saw him in a Birmingham supermarket. He was young. Latino. Maybe 11 or 12. He was wandering through the...

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In the Air

Good

Feb 22, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH Just before midnight. Somewhere on the Texas prairie. A 20-year-old named Mark was driving on a two-lane highway on his way home....

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In the Air

Blind Love

Feb 16, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH She was trash. At least that’s how she was treated. She was found wandering a rural Mississippi highway. Beneath the stars. It was...

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In the Air

Good Dog

Feb 8, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH She has long red hair. Fair complexion. A high school senior. Quiet. Mild-mannered. When she speaks, her voice sounds like Locust...

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In the Air

Breakfast

Feb 1, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH I’m warning you beforehand, what I’m about to say is going to seem utterly ridiculous. Here goes: My mother once told me that I...

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In the Air

Mama

Jan 25, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH They called her Mama. Everyone at Waffle House knew her that way. Few knew her real name. To them, she was “Mama.” “She was...

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