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Sean Dietrich Articles

Columnists’ Day

BY SEAN DIETRICH I didn’t believe him. I thought he was pulling my leg or similar appendage. I was at the airport bar. He told me April 18 was National Columnists’ Day.“Surely you’re joking,” I said.“Nope,” he said. “And don’t call me Shirley.”The bartender pulled us...
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About today

Hi. You don’t know me. I don’t know you. We’re strangers. But we’re the same, sort of. Only chances are, you drive a nicer car than I do. In fact I guarantee you drive a nicer car.I drive a 25-year-old truck. The tailgate is rusted, there is a prodigious layer of dog...
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Easter

BY SEAN DIETRICH A few years ago I attended my first Catholic mass in a busy church outside Birmingham. It was Easter Sunday. I sat in the nosebleed section.People greeted me with the words, “He’s risen.”And because I was not raised under a rock, I answered with:...
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Dollar General

BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — The following actually happened. In a major American city. A guy emailed me about it.A young woman is in Dollar General. A mother of two. Shopping. She has her kids in tow. They are dressed in ragged clothes that look like they’ve been...
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Feb 22, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH Just before midnight. Somewhere on the Texas prairie. A 20-year-old named Mark was driving on a two-lane highway on his way home....

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Blind Love

Feb 16, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH She was trash. At least that’s how she was treated. She was found wandering a rural Mississippi highway. Beneath the stars. It was...

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Good Dog

Feb 8, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH She has long red hair. Fair complexion. A high school senior. Quiet. Mild-mannered. When she speaks, her voice sounds like Locust...

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Breakfast

Feb 1, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH I’m warning you beforehand, what I’m about to say is going to seem utterly ridiculous. Here goes: My mother once told me that I...

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Mama

Jan 25, 2023

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...

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Jan 18, 2023

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...

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2023

Jan 12, 2023

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,...

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A New Year

Jan 4, 2023

By SEAN DIETRICH Goodbye old year. You were a decent year, I don’t care what they say about you. Yeah, a lot of crummy stuff happened in 2022. But a...

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