I know a lot of you read my story last week about the Big Texan Steak Ranch waitress in Amarillo, Texas who wanted a Wii for her son so I just wanted to give you all an update on what is happening with it. A terrific guy named Scott Rays stepped forward and donated a brand new Wii and as I write this I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival so I can wrap it and send it down. After being sure I had acquired the Wii I started a round of phone calls to my contacts at the various publishers to see if I could track down some games. EA, Namco/Bandai, Capcom and a few others who have requested to remain anonymous have all donated some games so this lucky guy and his mom should have a lot to open on Christmas morning.

To everyone who wrote in with offers of systems and games, etc: I received so many responses that it would have been impossible to write everyone back personally, so I'll take this opportunity to tell everyone thank you. Due to the huge response they will be well taken care of on the games front. But if you still want to help out this holiday (or any time for that matter), please consider donating to Child's Play or another of the many well deserving charities out there.

I spoke with Rachel (the waitress) personally this morning and she wanted me to thank everyone for all their kindness and well wishes. She said she will be sending some pictures from Christmas morning that I will be sure to post as soon as I get them.

Happy Holidays, all!

Update: A Touching Wish For Wii in Amarillo, TX

First of all, let me thank everyone for all their kind words and offers for help in this situation. At this point it has all been taken care of and it looks like the lady in question will be getting the Wii for her son as well as some games and maybe even some extra controllers.

The outpouring of emotion, support and goodwill towards this woman whom none of you have met is nothing short of amazing. It really gives me renewed faith not only in the gaming community, but in the world in general. I will be sure to give you all an update once the delivery has been made and hopefully I can even get some photos.

Once again, thank you one and all.

One of my stops on the way across the country was Amarillo, Texas and it's famous roadside attraction The Big Texan Steak Ranch. This is the place they spoofed on The Simpsons that will serve you a 72oz steak. If you eat in within an hour, the steak is free but you have to eat the whole thing plus the salad, roll and baked potato that comes with it. But, big slabs of meat are not what this story is about.

On this particular day, I happened to be wearing my Reggie-as-a-muscle-guy Wii t-shirt that came out at launch last year. We sat down and when our waitress came out she immediately noticed my shirt. "Oh, the Wii!" she exclaimed. "Do you know what that is?" I said that I did and she went on to tell a tale that still has me thinking about it nearly two weeks later.