Jan. 22

1/22/2026 8:22 Correspondence 126

I write this now not from my usual place of quiet contemplation, but from a quickly quieting food court on a hard wooden chair. I just watched something beautiful. To my left, two strangers just happened to start talking, and now are sitting across from each other. Two strangers striking up a conversation and connection, is this otherwise lonely place? The 6 student souls that fill this place are all quiet and of themself, except those two. The room is filled with an awkward yet hopeful conversation, the stale pop overhead, and the scraping movement of those hard wooden chairs. My day has been long, but I have found deep pockets of peace and hope, like the two sitting beside me now. Here's another: 

Adrift, calm, maybe struggling, but not panicking. 

My head breaks the surface, and I stare at the gray beams above.

I let my neck crain back, and my body is weightless. 

I feel isolated and at peace in a very busy pool

The sweat is wicked from my body to the mathematically indeterminate 

I'm just star stuff. And they are too. 

Adrift, calm, maybe struggling, but not panicking. 

Goodnight friends, 

Calvin Landreth