Sean Dietrich Articles

Sean of the South | Last night at the Opry

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — I arrive at the Opry House a few minutes before rehearsal. My guitar and fiddle cases trip the metal detector, so the security guard makes me open them.“You ain’t smuggling moonshine, are you?” says the guard with a watchful eye.“No,...

Sean of the South | Weird Al

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — The boy didn’t have a lot going for him. At least, that’s what his parents first thought.His parents were concerned. The other children would not stop laughing at their son. The other kids had turned him into a joke.His name was Al. And...

Sean of the South | Swimmers of Lake Martin

OPINION — Lake Martin shimmers beneath a heavy midday sun. I am sitting on a dock.There are distant sounds of splashing. Kids laughing. All the children are swimming. All their respective adults are sitting ashore, dry. As adults often are.There is nothing like July...

Sean of the South | Fourth of July

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — On my kitchen counter is a pound cake, sitting on a pedestal, beneath a glass dome.Pound cake is the food of summer. It can make or break the entire season. A summer without pound cake is like church without singing, Monet without color or...
Sean of the South | Jan. 2, 2025

Sean of the South | Jan. 2, 2025

A boyhood Christmas break OPINION — Christmas break. There were little-kid toys scattered around the house, fallen in the line of duty.A friendship...

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Sean of the South | Jan. 2, 2025

Sean of the South | Dec. 19, 2024

Questions OPINION — I receive a lot of questions. They come in the form of emails, private messages, subpoenas, etc. I cannot answer them all, but I...

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Sean of the South | Jan. 2, 2025

Sean of the South | Dec. 5, 2024

This I know OPINION —This story was told to me by a friend. A retired nurse.The nurse was passing by room 202 in the pediatric oncology wing. It was...

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Sean of the South | Jan. 2, 2025

Sean of the South | Nov. 21, 2024

First Dates OPINION — One of the first official dates with my wife took place at her parents’ house. That night, her extremely nosy parents promised...

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Sean of the South | Jan. 2, 2025

Sean of the South | Nov. 7, 2024

Veterans Day OPINION — Boaz is a town about as big as your average water heater closet. It was a quiet night. The sun had set. Houses were lit from...

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