The Great Festival of People
Sometimes you meet people. People you feel like you’ve met before. Strangers whom you’ve mysteriously known all your life.
Somehow
Americana
Go Down, Moses
She was walking her hound. It was a young beagle. Loose skin. Smooshy face. Uncoordinated feet the size of Lodge skillets. I was in Forsyth Park, in the heart of Savannah. It was overcast and gray. There were various soccer teams on the field, doing drills. And I was mesmerized by the animal.
Found in Translation
I don’t know her name. I don’t know anything about her. She is a sign language interpreter. That’s all I know. She sits onstage during tonight’s keynote address for the Savannah Book Festival. She is translating speech into ASL. She interprets for upwards of an hour.
The People You Meet in Jackson, Mississippi
Her name is Joeann. She works at the Hampton Inn in Jackson. She tends the dining room, making the breakfasts, and cleaning off tables. She is easy to talk to.
Savannah in the Morning
Savannah. The sun is not up. The city is dark and foggy. I am the first one awake in my hotel. I am always the first one awake. I don’t know why. As a kid, I could sleep until Carson came on. Now I get up before the rooster clears his throat.
The Reviews Are In
Today, Sean of the South lampoons comments found on the internet regarding some of the most impactful works of art, literature and other cultural entertainment
A Cold Night In Louisiana
Somewhere in Louisiana. The Best Western. It’s late. The temperatures are freezing. I cannot feel my extremities. I am pretty sure the rock rolling around inside my shoe is my toe.
Honor in Texas Hill Country
The poster is faded and aged, containing many three-by-five photos, housed in clear plastic sleeves, all in rows, on display for the world to see. The poster calls itself the “Wall of Honor,” even though you’d have to go out of your way to actually notice the poster. Let alone honor it.
Austin The Beautiful
The sun is shining in Austin, Texas. The hotel dining room is full of young people for breakfast. They are all tourists. I can tell this because they are wearing T-shirts that say things like: “Austin is Special.”
The Black history not told; Black History Month usually ignores capitalists and Republicans
February is Black History Month, which liberals bend toward messages of unceasing oppression while shunning the many black historical figures who improved the nation and proved the American dream works for everyone.
The Biggest Winner
Her husband left her with two kids and a Honda. She didn’t even have a place to stay. She moved in with her sister. She worked thankless jobs. And she hardly ever smiled. Not only because she was unhappy, but mostly because she was missing teeth.
National Puzzle Day
Today is National Puzzle Day. So, I bought a jigsaw puzzle at the grocery store. The box features an ornate cathedral with red roses and blossoming foliage. The cathedral is in Germany. The puzzle cost $9 bucks. I almost choked on my gum.
A Story About a Fry Cook
The young man was quiet. He was a lowly fry-cook, salting endless baskets of French fries. Flipping acres of patties. Dropping pre-fried, shrink-wrapped, chemical-preservative-injected chicken breasts into nuclear silos of boiling synthetic lard.
NRA 2.0 or Collapse: The $160 Million Lawsuit and the Price of Division
A house divided cannot stand. Right now, the National Rifle Association is living that proverb in real time, and it’s painful to watch—because for generations the NRA wasn’t just an organization. It was the standard-bearer. The steward. The institution that most Americans, whether they owned a firearm or not, understood as the big dog in the fight over the Second Amendment.
The Rehab Patient
The transmission of her car has given out. Every day, she hitches a ride to work because she is broke.
She works hard. Too hard. And when she’s not cooking in the kitchen of the medical rehab, delivering trays to patients, she’s a full-time single mother.
Tyranny With a Smile: The Lesser Evils Running the Republic
America doesn’t usually lose its freedoms in one dramatic, movie-worthy moment. We lose them the way you lose your hearing at rifle range: one “WHAT?” at a time, until your wife is yelling from the kitchen and you’re just smiling like a happy idiot because you can’t hear the damage anymore.
The Miracle Drug
In the summer of 2099, researchers developed a new groundbreaking drug. When ingested this new medication impaired one’s ability to judge others.
Conservation or Control? The DNR’s Baiting Ban Hypocrisy and the War on Private Property
They tell you baiting bans are about “science.” They say it’s about “wildlife health.” They deliver it in that soothing government voice that always means, “We’re here to help… ourselves.”
The Almighty Attention Span
I was at a barbecue. There were lots of people around, eating, and at some point one of my cousin’s kids rode their Schwinns into the yard. One boy leapt off his bike and sidled up to me. “It’s so quiet out here,” the boy remarked in stupefied wonder.
You Suck
The email came in this morning. “Sean,” the message began. “You are a social media attention whore….” Great way to start the day.