Sean Dietrich
Columnist
Sean is a writer for The Observer
Sean Dietrich's Latest
Newspapers Newspapers have a smell. If you’re lucky enough to find a physical newspaper in our digital world, you’ll notice the smell first. Fresh newsprint paper. SoySeal ink. Still warm. It’s a unique scent.I grew up throwing newspapers. Not on a...
Life changing words OPINION — The television commercial said that 50 million Americans have hearing loss. I did a fact check. Turns out the number is more like 30 million. The commercial was probably produced by a hearing aid company.Whatever the...
Jan. 1, 2025: I brought in the new year with a blind dog. She was seated beside me, wagging her butt. I think she could feel the energy in the air. Everyone else in my house was asleep because they are — in the literary sense — massive party...
During the Last Supper, according to John’s gospel, Jesus shared with his disciples the spiritual blessings they would receive after his crucifixion and resurrection (chapters 14-17). They would be blessed with the certainty that Jesus was in the...
A boyhood Christmas break OPINION — Christmas break. There were little-kid toys scattered around the house, fallen in the line of duty.A friendship bracelet kit, decimated. A loaded whoopee cushion on a chair, awaiting its next victim. A Silly...
You can make a new beginning The calendar – what a marvelous idea! One year ends. A new year begins. I love it!It offers us the opportunity to do two healthy things: let go of the past and make a new beginning.How do you let go of the past? You...
Happy New Year OPINION — New Years - Jan. 2016 Millions of years ago, New Year’s Eve was a rather disappointing thing. Way back then, our filthy ancestors huddled around campfires, sipping swamp water, grunting at teenagers who peed too close to...
Recalling joy in the Cumberland Mountains OPINION — Living a life filled with love must begin in the home with the family. A preacher cannot share authentic love with others if his family views him as a “street angel and a house devil.”...
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 am able to answer a few.Q: Sean, I am moderately offended. You mentioned the ongoing debate over...
The challenge of the unexpected OPINIONGenealogy mattered to Matthew. So he began his gospel by tracing Jesus’ ancestors from Abraham to Joseph, thus proving Jesus Christ to be both the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. As the son of Abraham, he...
Santa OPINION — I almost didn’t write this because I swore I’d never tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. But I have to.A few weeks ago I received a letter postmarked from Nunavut, Canada. An invitation said that I had been selected along with a...
A man I wish I had known If I were to name ten people I wish I had known, Carl Sandburg’s name would be on my list. I would love to have sat on the porch of his Blue Ridge Mountain home and talked to him about his life and his poetry.Years ago Dean...
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 late. The hospital was decorated for Chrimstmas. Tinsel on the walls. Construction-paper chain-link...
Staying Power OPINION — Staying power, the courage to persevere, to stay the course. Some have it; some don’t. Difficulties, failures or opposition cause some to throw in the towel. Some cannot handle criticism; they wilt under the censure of...
His love means nothing to me OPINION — I love a good story and the best stories have a happy ending. I like it when the big bad wolf loses and the three little pigs win. I cheer for the tortoise when he beats the hare to the finish line.The...
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 not to eavesdrop, nor bother us, nor hide behind the sofa and wait for us to kiss.Her parents...
A few words fitly spoken OPINION — The scene before me remains etched in my mind. I had walked into a huge ballroom in a hotel in Dallas, Texas, 15 minutes late. Five hundred people were already seated at tables, and I had no idea where to find a...
Finding peace in my 'Remember Room' OPINION — When I turned 70 and retired from fulltime ministry, I found time to read books that I had little time to peruse while serving as a pastor. One of the authors I enjoyed was Frederick Buechner and his...
American Way OPINION — I was a kid. My father and I walked into the filling station. The bell above the door dinged.Daddy was filthy from working under a car. He was always working under cars. He came from a generation of men who were born with...
Who's that knocking on the door OPINION — Comer Woodall was at the controls the first time I flew in an airplane. A young and popular Methodist preacher, Comer was preaching in a youth revival in Wetumpka during the summer of 1950. He was a pilot...
