Who am I doing this for and why? The first answer that comes to mind is I am doing this for me. As a retiree, I need an outlet for all the stuff bubbling from my busy brain. My mind has always worked a bit like satellite television, however, I am watching all the channels at the same time. Insatiable curiosity mixed with the inclination for reflection and a heart for others has created a modern-day polymath and armchair philosopher. As an ex-bartender with Irish-American roots it was only natural to consider myself a philosopher. I am hopeful that what I share of my reflections and experiences will be entertaining, perhaps even useful for you. I have usually done the right thing, but only after exhausting all other possibilities. The title for the site is Musings from a Long Strange Trip. Musings is defined in the Cambridge Dictionary website as “your thoughts or comments on something you have been thinking about carefully and for a long time”. One of the purposes of this site will be a vehicle to share my musings. The rest of the title is borrowed from greatly missed Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter. As I approach the end of my seventh decade on the planet my life’s experiences have definitely been a long strange trip. I have been told that I am a good storyteller and have been a wannabe writer for many years. Unfortunately, my publications to date have been snore inducing academic works; a few mathematics education research papers, a dissertation, and as co-author of The Phenomenological Heart of Teaching and Learning: Lessons from Research and Practice. Try to say that three times fast. I am a retired mathematics and statistics professor and most unlikely academic. I spent more time as the empathetic ear behind the bar than in the so-called civilized world of academia. Now, I have a different type of writing in mind. As a husband, father, grandfather, seeker, learner, teacher, academic, soccer player, coach, bartender, or any of the other many hats I have worn, I have always been a student of the human condition. Engaging universal human stories are what I hope to share. Some of the topics I plan to address will include faith, family, aging, elderhood, nature, roots, Appalachia (where I live), higher education, travel and who knows what else. I will always try to remember to provide healthy doses of humor, usually poking fun at myself. Thank you for your company on this long, strange trip.