As a gift for Easter, I received an Xbox 360 Elite. The only problem was that they didn't go on sale until today. So this morning, before church, I ran by Best Buy and picked one up. Unintentionally, due to the light Sunday morning traffic, I got there five minutes early and found myself doing something I never thought I'd do...stand in line waiting for a store to open to buy a video game console. There were six to eight people in front of me and four or five behind me by the time the doors opened. Although the black Xbox 360 is supposed to be a limited production run, there were plenty stacked high in the store for everyone.

I picked up two games, Gears of War, which looks great but is incredibly difficult to play having to manipulate three joysticks and all the other buttons and triggers at the same time. The other is Burnout Revenge which only requires a single joystick (steer), trigger (acceleration) and one button (boost). I don't bother with the brakes! Burnout is instantly enjoyable with a learning curve of under a minute. Once again, another activity to keep me from blogging.

The quality of the games is really phenomenal considering my game console evolution started with the original Pong which my family was the first of anyone I knew to get. I can still remember us and neighbors, young and old, coming over to play the simple game of paddle tennis. Later we were probably one of the last to get an Atari 2600...and that was it for console games until the Xbox 360 Elite. Granted there were a number of computers in between which I've always done a fair amount of gaming on.

At this time, We see no need for Drew to be Xboxing so we haven't told him about it. I figure he'll be old enough to play it when this conversation takes place:

   Drew:     Momma?
   Mary:     Yes, Drew.
   Drew:     Momma, do we have an Xbox?
   Mary:     Why do you ask?
   Drew:     Because there's one right here.
   Mary:     Oh, that's just part of the TV.
   Drew:     No Mamma, that's an Xbox.
   Mary:     Ask your father when he gets home.

To further aid in the deception, we keep a few things stacked in front of the console to help hide it. And, we keep the controllers and related items well hidden as well. Eventually, though, Drew will figure things out, but hopefully not for a few years. When he does, it will be time for Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.

The really amazing thing is how well the Xbox 360 fits in our TV cabinet which we've had for years...long before there ever was an Xbox. I always thought the odd-sized tubby hole next to the cable box was a wasted space, an after thought evidencing poor design. Now that I see the Xbox 360 fit there perfectly, as if it were custom made, I think the designer was a Nostradamus-like genius. Now, if Cox/Motorola would just make their cable box in black.

My sister Donelda Danz was inducted today into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame as a player.

Three thousand were in attendance at the annual ceremonies which recognizes outstanding achievement in news media, friends of basketball, coaches, teams, officials and players.

Donelda was a four year starter and star of the 1977 Fremd High School girls basketball team that took 3rd place in the first ever Illinois girls state basketball tournament where she was selected for the All-Tournament Team having scored the second highest number of points of all the players in the tournament.

Congratulations Big-D!

Not much blogging lately. Been doing too much of the above. Actually, you can never do "too" much of the above. So, more accurately, I've been doing it "instead."

Ma Danz with Will and Drew all dressed up in their Easter best.

Drew and Will posing with the Easter Bunny.

Ma Danz and Aunt Donelda are in town for Easter and everyone got in on the Easter Egg coloring tonight.

Drew took a very hands-on approach to his Easter Egg coloring. So, if you see him later this week with blue fingers, you'll know why.

The result of everyone's hard work and imagination!

We went out to dinner tonight and, as usual, Will was all smiles and attracted the attention of everyone around him.

Here is a close up of Will's two-tooth smile. Not quite ready for steak, but he does a fine job on Cheerios. His top teeth will probably start breaking through soon as the gums are beginning to show some white spots.

We're *sniffle* number one *sneeze*, we're number *rubs eyes* one...

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), Tulsa, Oklahoma, ranks as the number one worst place in America for allergies.

Tulsa topped the list with a score of 100, while Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, was second at 95.52 and Fort Myers, Florida, a distant third at 91.57. No one can hold a candle...or tissue...to Tulsa.

Just over a year ago I started the Danz Family Forums "as a place for all persons with the Danz surname and their immediate relatives to meet, exchange information and keep in touch." It has now grown to 19 members from as far west as California, east to Maryland, north to Wisconsin, south to Texas and even overseas to Germany. Through the forums, I've learned the identities of my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents and found amazing photos I never knew existed. Hopefully, the forums will continue to grow and provide other Danzes with equally valuable genealogical information.

The forums are closed to all non-Danz family members. However, I have opened up the forum about famous and infamous Danzes to the general public. In there are posts about a New York police officer killed on 9/11, an author and television personality, a reality show apprentice candidate, a Nazi concentration camp guard war criminal (we can't all be good guys), a theologian and hebraist, an opera singer and even a Star Wars character. So, if you are interested, feel free to check it out.