Written Word

by Billy Reeder | September 27, 2026 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

Outside, bands of rain beat their autumn drums, cold and soaking, as the wind howls through the harbor and mooring lines protest and chafe against the unrelenting pressure. Sea birds huddle en masse, heads bowed in stoic reverence.

by Billy Reeder | July 2, 2026 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

Twenty-something years of storytelling and teaching later, I found that I needed to find a new path. The path of curiosity. 

by Billy Reeder | July 1, 2026 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

f I’m trying to focus on something, the worst possible thing I can do is introduce additional noise.  The moment I try to listen to music while reading, my brain locks up.

by Billy Reeder | June 27, 2026 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

52 was the number on my football jersey in high school.  It seemed like such a big number back then.  And I suppose it is to a teenager with a face full of acne and a future that looks like a blank canvas.

by Billy Reeder | June 25, 2026 | Blog, Featured, written word | 0 Comments

Life is a peculiar thing. Years ago when I was learning to sail my first boat on a lake in Arkansas, I remember hearing guys on the dock talk about how “one day” they were going to head down to the Gulf of Mexico and live the pirate life. I was one of them who had this crazy dream in his head that made sense to absolutely nobody who knew me. 

by Billy Reeder | January 16, 2026 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

by Billy Reeder | January 15, 2026 | Blog, Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Meanwhile, he fired the sheepdog and hired the wolves to protect his livestock. 

Because he liked their style. 

And they were just a bit more… tactical.

by Billy Reeder | January 12, 2026 | Blog, written word | 1 Comment

It was a perfectly safe ride dressed up as adventure and danger.

by Billy Reeder | September 6, 2024 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

But for those of us who live nautical lives, it’s also peak hurricane season so we keep a close eye on the weather and long range forecasts. Waiting cautiously for the scale to tip farther towards autumn when we can collectively exhale knowing our boats have survived another year.

by Billy Reeder | June 10, 2024 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

These days go by slow and that’s exactly the way I want it.  I didn’t get into sailing because I wanted to go fast.  I got into sailing because I wanted to cross over the deep places slowly.

by Billy Reeder | June 2, 2024 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

Occasionally, people ask me what my plan is.  And that answer is pretty simple.  Put something good into the world and make that my primary goal.

by Billy Reeder | February 29, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Some days it just seems colder than it should.

by Billy Reeder | February 28, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

I bled, I scraped, I had panic attacks. Plenty of people seemed to respect what I was doing but I suspect plenty more just saw a man in a midlife crisis freefall.

by Billy Reeder | February 27, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Whatever boat you’re building, you’re going to need to decide where you’re going so you’ll know what it needs.

by Billy Reeder | February 26, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Sometimes life offers us the opportunity to build a better boat.

by Billy Reeder | February 23, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

He needed a boat strong enough to survive the storms on the outside and the storms within.

by Billy Reeder | February 22, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

The kids that came from nothing and worked and clawed their way to a “B” average were more like rawhide leather. They made it to where they were on school loans, caffeine and determination.

by Billy Reeder | February 19, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Coddled by schools and parents while being fed a constant stream of social media influencers, Xanax, weed and bullshit, they’re kicked out into a world that requires the street smarts of an alley cat and they’re just not that cat.

by Billy Reeder | February 16, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

If your captain is telling you to row toward the rocks, you always have the option to stop rowing.

by Billy Reeder | February 13, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

So first things first. You have to figure out where you are. This is your reckoning.

by Billy Reeder | February 9, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

How to know what to do when everything is fluid? When there are no reference points on the horizon to know where you are? When there isn’t any wind in your sails to move you forward? And worst of all, you have no idea how long this will last.

by Billy Reeder | February 8, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

The challenge was knowing where they were when there was nothing but water on every horizon line. When there’s no reference point to work with every direction looks the same. Choose wrong and you end up lost at sea.

by Billy Reeder | February 7, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

It’s hard to know where you’re going, if you don’t know where you are.

by Billy Reeder | February 6, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

The golden rule of communication is, “Know thy audience.” My personal follow up to that rule is that you reach people where they are, not where you want them to be. And this campaign did just that. It connected people with a sense of hope and comfort at a time when it was hard to know where to turn. There was nothing to sell, just a voice offering a shoulder to lean on for those who needed it.

by Billy Reeder | February 5, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

What makes this place surreal isn’t that it’s run down. It’s that they’re acting as if it’s not.

by Billy Reeder | February 1, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

The paradox emerged that a county primarily supported by agriculture, had now also become a food desert.

by Billy Reeder | January 31, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Connecting communities not only added wealth to their populations, but also created a system of resiliency. Where one area failed, perhaps by a flood or drought, another with a surplus could shoulder the deficiency.

by Billy Reeder | January 30, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Rural economies are in trouble and in desperate need of innovation. The exact kind of innovation that a university could bring to the area it serves. Or it can just discount it and make fun of cows.

by Billy Reeder | January 29, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

While everyone seemed to be chasing numbers, the single most important thing that nobody seemed to be considering, was what purpose the university was actually supposed to be serving?

by Billy Reeder | January 26, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

The institution that is called a farm grows food and remains true to its function by feeding the farmer’s family and surrounding community. The animals are healthy. The soil is healthy. The family is healthy. The institution thrives. Form follows function.

by Billy Reeder | January 23, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

It’s a faith that we are somehow connected to the source. That there is something called a spirit. That our consciousness is connected to God through something we call a soul. It’s a faith that we are better physically and spiritually we remain in harmony with that source.

by Billy Reeder | January 22, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

The institution remains true to the function it was designed to serve. The institution thrives. Form follows function.

by Billy Reeder | January 19, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

And as much as corporate America likes to talk about getting outside the box, they’re mostly full of shit.

by Billy Reeder | January 18, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

That nagging call of the wild is always in our ear and has us scrolling our phones during Zoom meetings and living vicariously through YouTubers who seem to be living a more vibrant life.

by Billy Reeder | January 17, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

To think about the relationship between their lives and grace from their point of view is to think about bandwidth. It’s tuning the dial so the station comes in clearer. It’s walking into a quiet space to have a conversation. It’s making sure nothing is interfering with the signal. For them, grace is the signal itself.

by Billy Reeder | January 16, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

It’s not just what they are now, but more what they are no longer.

by Billy Reeder | January 15, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

What changes when someone gives up a life focused on the pursuit of family and career and instead commits to a lifetime of intentional poverty, service and a singular focus on something greater than himself?

by Billy Reeder | January 12, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

But there is a price to be paid for cozying up to the darker side of human nature.

by Billy Reeder | January 11, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

by Billy Reeder | January 10, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

At night, I build my campfire on a mountain overlook and listen as coyotes wail somewhere deep in the valley at a harvest moon. And as the flames fade to embers, my mind is quiet and turns inward and I sip coffee and consider my life as I study the constellations.

by Billy Reeder | January 9, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

They are opposing forces. Curiosity advances, caution bunkers down.

by Billy Reeder | January 8, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Sometimes you just can’t go back home because it’s just too dark to see there anymore.

by Billy Reeder | January 5, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

I tried to stay true to one of the original tenants of a liberal arts university and mimic the best professors I had as a student.

by Billy Reeder | January 4, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

by Billy Reeder | January 3, 2024 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

So one day I hoisted a cheap pirate flag and used the small electric trolling motor to get me out of the marina and into the lake where I taught myself to sail.

by Billy Reeder | January 2, 2024 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

We live and we learn, taking our knocks and pressing on trying to be better.

by Billy Reeder | December 24, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Conflict is the refiner’s fire. It is the condition that must be created to transform raw metal into a deadly sword.

by Billy Reeder | December 23, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Whatever the scenario, the inciting incident forces a decision for the protagonist to make the choice of pursuing the unknown or sticking with the status quo.

by Billy Reeder | December 21, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

The single most important thing that a good story cannot be is predictable.

by Billy Reeder | December 20, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

It is the story of all of us. We are caught in between these two forces. We’re afraid of living because we’re afraid of dying.

by Billy Reeder | December 19, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Depending on the water it finds itself, a boat can be magnificent or worthless.

by Billy Reeder | December 18, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

What she doesn’t seem to realize is that she’s the one singing off pitch instead of finding the harmony with the other singers in the room. She’s disconnected. She’s the source of the dissonance.

by Billy Reeder | December 15, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

The more distance I put between myself and the earth the more likely I am to pollute it. The more distance I put between myself and other people the more likely I am to pollute those relationships. The more stories I consume about how good or bad someone or some place is, the more likely I am to believe it. It doesn’t matter if I’ve actually met them or been there. I have an opinion and that opinion is my truth.

by Billy Reeder | December 14, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Sometimes things get messy, but you do everything you can to make it work. And when you do, you get a taste of something amazing. And yet, you still end up back where you started.

by Billy Reeder | December 13, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

by Billy Reeder | December 12, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

When we intentionally disconnect ourselves from quality information, it’s willful ignorance. But, sometimes it’s not so willful. Sometimes it’s a matter of algorithms and people simply feeding us what they think we want to hear.

by Billy Reeder | December 11, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

Whatever the word is it appeared that I was seeing more and more students gaining weight and spending less time physically engaging with other people. You know, real life. In person. When it came to the challenges and obstacles life throws at you in college, I saw more and more either just check out when things got hard or go into a complete neurotic meltdowns.

by Billy Reeder | December 8, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

What does a man, who has been given back is life, do with the days that are before him? What does freedom feel like to a man like him? How fresh is the air that he breathes? How delicious is the food he eats or the water he drinks to quench his thirst?

by Billy Reeder | December 7, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

In that moment he thought about all the dreams he’d put off.

But… you know…Try to relax.

by Billy Reeder | December 6, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

by Billy Reeder | December 5, 2023 | Disconnect, written word | 0 Comments

But, he’s also depressed and doesn’t know why. When he thinks about it, nothing seems bad about his life so he doesn’t know what the problem is.

by Billy Reeder | December 4, 2023 | Blog, written word | 1 Comment

by Billy Reeder | June 19, 2023 | Blog, written word | 1 Comment

Students would stop by my office to ask even more questions or sometimes just to plop down in a chair and start telling me about their lives.  There was hardly a subject that wasn’t discussed.  We laughed and at times we cried.  But, most of all we connected as humans.  

by Billy Reeder | November 11, 2022 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

Sometimes when we’re the most vulnerable. Sometimes when we’re the most confused. Sometimes when we’re the most afraid.

Sometimes this is the exact moment we’re willing to pay the most attention.

by Billy Reeder | January 16, 2021 | written word | 0 Comments

My job isn’t to make you cheer for a cure, my job is to make you believe something is diseased and dangerous.  It doesn’t matter if it’s true, as long as I get you to make the association in your mind.  I’m no longer a product, I’m the solution to your problem. 

by Billy Reeder | April 13, 2020 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

Floods. Fires. Droughts. Sickness. It’s understood that help isn’t coming from anywhere but within. This is the way it’s always been. We know that we are largely forgotten by the rest of the world. We shoulder the heaviness instead of avoiding it. We endure together.

by Billy Reeder | April 6, 2020 | written word | 1 Comment

That which we call family isn’t so much a tree as it is a confluence of tributaries flowing into a common river. Those tributaries carry culture, genetics, reputation, damage, pride and other unknown specters flowing beneath the surface of those muddy waters. 

by Billy Reeder | November 18, 2019 | immigration, written word | 0 Comments

The migrant camp is now a full fledge refugee camp. Except there is no United Nations here. No state sponsored anything. Just a sea of camping tents and thousands of people. I followed my border contacts online as the camp went from two hundred to five hundred to a thousand to over two thousand with hundreds more arriving daily. Border Patrol drops everyone off here who has crossed this region of the border seeking asylum.

The mood here is desperation.

by Billy Reeder | September 30, 2019 | written word | 1 Comment

What changes when someone gives up a life focused on the pursuit of family and career and, instead, commits to a lifetime of intentional poverty, service and a singular focus on something greater than himself?

by Billy Reeder | March 11, 2019 | Blog, written word | 0 Comments

It got me thinking about something I’ve been teaching for years.  You reach people where they are, not where you want them to be.

by Billy Reeder | January 11, 2019 | immigration, written word | 0 Comments

But, he wasn’t taken to a police station. The car pulled into a warehouse and he was made to get out. The police officer handed him over to other men and left. He did not know where he was.

by Billy Reeder | January 11, 2019 | immigration, written word | 0 Comments

The boy escaped Bangladesh in fear for his life. His father belonged to the minority political party and he was marked. He was given an ultimatum; swear allegiance to us or die.

by Billy Reeder | January 11, 2019 | immigration, written word | 0 Comments

She traveled from Africa searching for a safe place to make a new start. A new life. A safe life. She has followed all the rules. She has been polite. She put her trust in the system and here she waits.

by Billy Reeder | November 20, 2018 | immigration, texas, written word | 0 Comments

“Every day they were taking more people for questioning.” He told me. “You would only hear shouting, brutalization and then you hear gun shots. But, they would never bring them back.”