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Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South | The hunt for ink and paper

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — All I wanted was a newspaper.It was a small town. Somewhere in the Southeast. Big shopping complex, off the interstate. Best Buy, Red Lobster, Ulta, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Target, and all other franchises that transform American...
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Sean of the South | El Camino de Crazy-O

I’ve never seen London. I’ve never seen France. Consequently, I’ve never seen anyone’s underpants. But in a few months my wife Jamie and I will fly into France — wearing underpants — to do something that is completely nuts because my wife is bat-excrement insane. In a...
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Sean of the South | Jan. 23, 2025

Snow in the South OPINION —From the archives: March 2022 “Snow?” said my wife. “Snow,” I said.“You’re joking,” she said.So I showed her the newspaper headline, which read: “Alabama Winter Storm Warning Issued: Up to 4 Inches Expected Tonight.”“Snow in Alabama,” my...
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Sean of the South | Jan. 16, 2025

Newspapers Newspapers have a smell. If you’re lucky enough to find a physical newspaper in our digital world, you’ll notice the smell first. Fresh newsprint paper. SoySeal ink. Still warm. It’s a unique scent.I grew up throwing newspapers. Not on a bicycle. My mother...
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Jan 18, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH I saw him across the crowded restaurant with his elderly parents. They didn’t look like they’d aged a bit. But he did. His face was...

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2023

Jan 12, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH The dusk is reflecting off Douglas Lake. I am nestled in the French Broad River valley, seated on the porch of a log cabin,...

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A New Year

Jan 4, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH Goodbye old year. You were a decent year, I don’t care what they say about you. Yeah, a lot of crummy stuff happened in 2022. But a...

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This I Know

This I Know

Dec 28, 2022

This story was told to me by a friend. A retired nurse.  The nurse was passing by room 202 in the pediatric oncology wing. It was late. The...

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Christmas

Dec 21, 2022

Hi. We don’t know each other. But Christmas is on the way, and I wanted to introduce myself. Then again, my name isn’t important. I’m nobody...

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Pretty Lights

Dec 14, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH Sunset. My driveway. “OK, everybody get in the truck!” I shouted, using my cheerful American dad voice. Although, technically, I’m...

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Disney Child

Disney Child

Dec 7, 2022

My earliest memory is of a record player. It sat in my mother’s bedroom. Sometimes, she would play records for me. In one particular memory, she...

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It’s Going to be OK

Nov 30, 2022

By SEAN DIETRICH You’re going to be OK. That’s not an opinion. It’s not a guess. This isn’t some trite little catchphrase from some crappy...

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