The King of Waffles
Six years ago. The Waffle House was packed. There were customers everywhere. Shoulder to shoulder. Sardine-like. I don’t know how the waitress managed to find a place for us at the counter.
People
Our Angels: A few people you never met
Northview High School lost one of their own a few weeks ago. Students returned after spring break and their world was decimated. The teenage security bubble had been shattered.
Senior Kara Santorelli was recently killed on Highway 29. Her car was struck by a vehicle traveling the wrong way. Both drivers died at the scene.
It was godawful.
Memphis Belle: Somewhere in Bluff City
Memphis, Tennessee. A cafe. The kind with vinyl booth cushions, all patched up with duct tape. I’m in town to make a speech.
She is my waitress. Her name is on her nametag. She smiles at me after she asks how I want my eggs.
Her teeth are bad. Real bad. There’s probably a story here. I’d wish I knew the rest of it.
My Favorite Trees: The strength of a tree
I have a thing for trees. I don’t know why. Maybe because I’ve always been a nerd.
I think it all dates back to my days in Boy Scouts. My cousin Ed Lee and I were second-class Scouts, and we earned our forestry merit badges one summer. Actually, I earned both his badge and mine. He mainly read Archie comic books while I did all the fieldwork.
I’ve been obsessed with trees ever since. Namely, beca
Where You Come From: A Modern Roadside Parable
There was an old man sitting outside the dusty bar. He sat in a plastic lawn chair. There was a dog with him. The dog was either asleep or dead.
He was whittling a stick for no reason—the old man, not the dog. This is what old men did before TikTok.
The Queen of Savannah
Tonight, we walk the streets of Savannah with royalty. Traffic does not part when she walks by. Her unwitting subjects, trudging along the sidewalks, do not pay her a genuflecting glance. When they see her, they do not even recognize her sacred station. But they smile just the same. For one cannot help but smile at royalty.
The William Penn Overture
I like Pennsylvania. They’re nice here. They say “yous” and “yinz” and “soda pop.” They have Appalachian manners, a steelman’s work ethic, and potholes big enough to swallow Peterbilts.
Dear Sean
I’ll call her Rebecca. She’s from Washington D.C. Her email started off like this:
“Dear Sean, I don’t know what to do, my mother just died of brain cancer… I am only 18 years old, and she was all I have left…
“She read your Facebook posts, and I am hurting… I know you can’t help me, but I don’t know who else to tell.”
Birmingham at Breakfast: One morning in Magic City
A little breakfast joint. Birmingham, Alabama. The birth pangs of summer are in the air. Alabama feels like a Monet. Trees are pregnant with blossoms. Birds are everywhere.
On my way into the restaurant, I see a man seated on the sidewalk, weeping. A young woman sits beside him, rubbing his shoulders. I’m wondering what’s wrong. I’m probably staring, even. Which isn’t polite, but I can’t help it.
Cracker Barrel
Cracker Barrel is quiet this time of night. There are few cars in the parking lot. My wife is with me. We’ve been traveling all day.
On the way into the restaurant, I see a few kids sitting on rockers outside. They’re playing checkers.
The People Who Drive Us
My Uber driver is in her mid-30s, and she is friendly. She is driving us to our hotel, and we are stuck in gridlock traffic.
There is a network of tattoos adorning her limbs. As she drives, I notice a thumbprint tattoo on her neck. I ask about this tattoo.
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
The Laws of Stupidity: How Carlo Cipolla Explains America’s Political Fanaticism
Carlo M. Cipolla (1922–2000) was an Italian economic historian known for his insightful and often humorous takes on human behavior. While he wrote extensively on economic development and technological history, his most famous work is The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (1976).
Airborne, By Sean Dietrich
For Sean Dietrich, a crowded airplane becomes another opportunity to meet new friends and see the best on other people