One of the delights of my life is the VetTix gifting. At vettix.org, they provide all sorts of entertainment and cultural tickets for those who've served in the Armed Forces. I did 28 years in the Army Guard and Reserves, but the passes are available to all who have served honorably, however short the time. You can check it out at vettix.org. 

I'm teaching for a year as a fill-in at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho. I wasn't sure that VetTix would follow me from Nashville to Idaho, but every day I get offers from the office in this region. Most all of them pertain to events in Spokane (70 miles away) and Kennewick (150 miles away). The Spokane features range from the city auditorium to comedy clubs to casinos. The Kennewick invites are more likely to bull-riding, monster-car, and wrestling shows, but I recently saw notice of a Jordan Peterson presentation. I wish they were closer. 

In Nashville, we were awash in access to Messiah and a Judy Garland retrospective at the Schermerhorn Symphony Halll; a NASCAR race in nearby Lebanon; ZZ Top and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Graystone Quarry just down the road in Thompson Station; Michael Buble, the Lumineers, Keith Urban, an NHL Predators game, and the Harlem Globetrotters in Bridgestone Arena; Vanderbilt games; a range of Grand Ole Opry shows; etc. After all, it is "Nashvegas" (or "Smashville" if you're a Preds fan). 

We finally got to "cash in a coupon" over winter break. We took an overnight run up to Leavenworth, Washington, with its Bavarian Village look, beautifully lighted snow-lined streets, and mountain backdrop. After a night in Wenatchee ("The Apple Capital of the World"), we headed back to Moscow, with a stop in Cheney, Washington, just SW of Spokane. Eastern Washington University had been offering tickets to football and basketball games, but we'd not been able to take advantage. But we were happy to see a hoops game scheduled for that very afternoon, so we finally got to take one in. Here we are enjoying the EWU Eagles taking on the Bobcats of Montana State.

It was good to tour the campus and see, among other things, their football field with red turf. (They call it The Inferno.) To my knowledge, there are three unusually-colored college fields, the other two at Boise State (blue) and Eastern Michigan (gray). And, speaking of sports, TV's Colin Cowherd and the Rams' Cooper Kupp went to EWU.

So whether in the South or the Pacific Northwest, "Thank you VetTix." And, if you're eligible, you should check it out. As they say, "Thank you for your service."