Sean Dietrich Articles

America’s Aunt

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Nobody knows when it started. But it did. The first jar of pickles to appear on Aunt Bee’s grave in Siler City, North Carolina, showed up in in 1989, the year she died. Legend states that the pickles were probably homemade. Although some...

Morning in Tuscaloosa

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — The plane landed in Tuscaloosa at 8:37 p.m. Central Time. Coach Kalen DeBoer deboarded.He was met with an entourage of photographers and reporters with iPhones. DeBoer’s press conference was scheduled for 1 p.m.It was a blustery, rainy day...

Uhhhh…

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — It’s a rainy night in Columbus, Georgia. I have an interview on the local evening news. This is a monumental occasion. My mother called to make sure I was wearing clean underwear.The last time I was in Columbus, I was in college. I was...

More letters to Dear Sean

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — DEAR SEAN: All I want this year is for this girl in my third period class to go on a date with me, but she’s way out of my league.Please help,Fifteen and pathetic in Birmingham Dear Pathetic:I’ll put this in the nicest way I can: If you’re...
‘Tis of Thee

‘Tis of Thee

By Sean Dietrich It hangs from my porch, slack on a breezeless day. It is stunning in the early sunlight. The colors are so vivid you can see them...

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Holy Cow

Holy Cow

By Sean Dietrich This story is not mine. But I’m going to tell it anyway. And our story begins at night. Nighttime in the countryside can feel eerie...

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Holy Cow

The Old Man on the Hill

By Sean Dietrich DEAR SEAN: My dad is in the process of dying. He has mild dementia and he’s bitter right now, and is lashing out at all of us...

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Holy Cow

The smell of books

By Sean Dietrich I was not a good grade-school student. It was hard for me to follow a classroom lesson. I was always distracted and lost in my own...

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Holy Cow

Good

By Sean Dietrich MURRAY, Utah.—John works at a Nissan dealership in the service department. A customer called and said they had a big problem. John...

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Holy Cow

Goodbye, Summer

By Sean Dietrich Dear Summer, You were not a great season this year. In fact, you were the worst. I’m glad to see you go. I hope autumn is better....

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‘Tis of Thee

Mustang Sally

By Sean Dietrich A hotel lobby. I am 951 miles from home, watching the news channels show hurricane footage taken from my hometown in Florida. The...

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‘Tis of Thee

Pennsylvania

By Sean Dietrich Sunrise. A small Pennsylvania town. I’m sipping weak coffee, writing from the porch of a small 1893 inn that overlooks Appalachia....

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‘Tis of Thee

Dear Sean

By Sean Dietrich CYNTHIA— I’m depressed because I’m stuck indoors because I have a compromised immune system. I miss my husband. He died two years...

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