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Sean Dietrich Articles

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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A Long Way to Mobile

This is not my story. But it was told to me by an old man who lived it.The year is 1987. Rural Alabama. Our main character is a young kid. He’s at a remote gas station. He tries to start his car, but it’s a no go. The car is deader than disco.So he’s sitting on the...
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Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad

Mar 17, 2021

By Sean Dietrich The elderly man at the deli counter was undecided. He looked at the lineup of cold salads behind the glass divider with a serious...

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Chicken Salad

Spring Training

Mar 10, 2021

By Sean Dietrich Major League Baseball spring training started today. I sat on my porch, listening to a radio. And I was cheering. I mean genuinely...

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Chicken Salad

About Last Night

Mar 3, 2021

By Sean Dietrich Last night, amidst the biting Michigan cold, a baby was born at 10:03 p.m. And while none of the major news outlets or camera crews...

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Chicken Salad

About Humans

Feb 24, 2021

By Sean Dietrich DEAR SEAN: I am 67 years old and I hate myself for not having seen my son in 30 years, and it is my fault we drifted apart, I’m to...

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Chicken Salad

Our Daily Redhead

Feb 17, 2021

By Sean Dietrich The email arrived this morning. The subject line read, “Bread.” The message read: “My 11-year-old granddaughter, Bella, makes bread...

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Chicken Salad

A Wee Little Dog

Feb 10, 2021

By Sean Dietrich A snowscape. The long Minnesota prairies were covered in powdered sugar. A lone dirt highway cut through the cotton-white...

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Chicken Salad

Cornflakes and Potatoes

Feb 3, 2021

By Sean Dietrich She was slight. Elderly. She had an old kitchen that was lit up with smells and colors. There is no place better than the humble...

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Chicken Salad

Dear America

Jan 27, 2021

By Sean Dietrich At sunrise, the Great Smoky Mountains are so majestic their beauty could kill you. So are the Rockies, and the Sierra Nevadas at...

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Chicken Salad

An Old Man

Jan 20, 2021

By Sean Dietrich He stands before his mirror, adjusting his collar, fixing his white hair until it’s just so. He’s thinking of her. She always took...

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