By SEAN DIETRICH They called her Mama. Everyone at Waffle House knew her that way. Few knew her real name. To them, she was “Mama.” “She was everyone’s mother,” said the Waffle House cook, standing over a flat-top stove. The older woman was cooking my eggs,...

BY WIL CREWS SPORTSCREWS@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM OPELIKA — A large crowd gathered at the Opelika Public Library last Thursday night to see acclaimed columnist and novelist, Sean Dietrich. Known for his commentary on living in the South, Dietrich, commonly referred to as...

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 lean, his skin was wrinkled, he was gaunt. And he still had his trademark sense of humor. I told him I hardly...

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, watching the Great Smoky Mountains continue to be Great. I am playing the mandolin with some friends. There is an upright bass,...