Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South

The not-so-little leaguers OPINION —It was just one of those things. I ran into them in the supermarket. They were no longer boys. They were young men. Gangly. Skinny. Grown men.They had sincere-looking facial hair on their faces. They had broad shoulders. They were...

Sean of the South | June 27, 2024

The Airline OPINION —I’m in an airport. My wife and I are camped out at airline concourse B with other stranded airline passengers.We were all booted off our flight because the plane was overbooked. I believe I was booted off, however, because I was the only passenger...

Sean of the South

The Tree OPINION —In my front yard is something beautiful. Something living. Something that sometimes reminds me of my mother.It is a tree, about 80 feet tall, with a gnarled trunk, long limbs, and thick waxy leaves.When we were building our little home, some twenty...

Sean of the South

I heart America OPINION —An old highway. Somewhere in America. Two lanes. No shoulder. Faded yellow lines. Oh, the things you see while driving old American highways will enchant you.I pass a young woman walking the side of the highway, carrying supermarket bags. She...
More letters to Dear Sean

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...

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More letters to Dear Sean

All the purty horses

BY SEAN DIETRICH The day before New Year’s Eve. I was stuck in Birmingham rush hour. A ten-mile line of standstill traffic stretched before me. It...

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More letters to Dear Sean

The Giving Tree

BY SEAN DIETRICH Merry Christmas, Layla Grace. I got your name from the church Christmas tree. It’s kind of like Angel Tree, where you buy gifts for...

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Christmas Prayers

The side-of-the-highway café was decorated for Christmas. Plastic balsam trees on formica tables. Beside the napkin dispenser, a nutcracker soldier...

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More letters to Dear Sean

Sean of the South

Relax, you're going to be okay You’re going to be okay. That’s not an opinion. It’s not a guess. This isn’t some trite little catchphrase from some...

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More letters to Dear Sean

The 11-year-old in the house

BY SEAN DIETRICH There is a little girl in my house. She is 11. She is currently playing piano in my office. She is blind, so she plays by feel. She...

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More letters to Dear Sean

From the files of ‘Dear Sean’

BY SEAN DIETRICH DEAR SEAN:I’m not sure what to do. My teenage son died in an accident three years ago. … A few months ago one of his good friends...

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