Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South | Dec. 19, 2024

Questions OPINION — I receive a lot of questions. They come in the form of emails, private messages, subpoenas, etc. I cannot answer them all, but I am able to answer a few.Q: Sean, I am moderately offended. You mentioned the ongoing debate over saying “merry...

Sean of the South | Dec. 12, 2024

Santa OPINION — I almost didn’t write this because I swore I’d never tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. But I have to.A few weeks ago I received a letter postmarked from Nunavut, Canada. An invitation said that I had been selected along with a few other writers...

Sean of the South | Dec. 5, 2024

This I know OPINION —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 hospital was decorated for Chrimstmas. Tinsel on the walls. Construction-paper chain-link garland everywhere....

Sean of the South | Nov. 21, 2024

First Dates OPINION — One of the first official dates with my wife took place at her parents’ house. That night, her extremely nosy parents promised not to eavesdrop, nor bother us, nor hide behind the sofa and wait for us to kiss.Her parents agreed to let us have the...
I Hope

I Hope

By SEAN DIETRICH I hope you have a good day. The entire day. Start to finish. Not the Best Day Ever. No, that’s too much excitement crammed into 24...

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I Hope

Gone Country

By SEAN DIETRICH A beer joint. In the sticks. A cinderblock building. There were beat-up trucks parked in a dusty parking lot. No sign. Only a small...

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I Hope

Good

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

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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I Hope

Country Music

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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I Hope

Dear God

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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I Hope

The Sandwich

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

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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I Hope

The Ballad of Bubs McFee

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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