By SEAN DIETRICH One day you will laugh. I promise. Probably not today. Probably not tomorrow, either. But soon. Right now you are a premature newborn, lying in the NICU, inside a plastic bubble, just trying to breathe. Your name is Harley. Your tiny heart is...

By SEAN DIETRICH The little redheaded boy found his grandfather on the porch swing, late at night. The old man was whittling basswood, listening to a ballgame on the radio. The kid let the screen door slap behind him. The boy wore Evel Knievel pajamas. “What’re you...

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 care of him. He was used to having her do all the little things. Not just the laundry and cooking. Any trained dog can...

By SEAN DIETRICH Lord have mercy. Betty White is dead. She inherited her eternal reward on New Year’s Eve, at age 99. Less than 24 hours before the New Year. It’s been quite a year. She was the last Golden Girl to go. Her co-star, Estelle Getty (Sophia), died in 2008...