This is a big one. Thanks to everyone who sent me word of the following:

Taco Bell heroism: A member of Navy SEAL Team 6 — the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden — went on 60 Minutes this week and described the mission’s aftermath. The money quote:

They told us we had a couple days off. And I grabbed my keys, went and got in my truck and, you know, I put it in the book. But, you know, I hit Taco Bell on the way home, hit the drive-thru, a couple tacos. And, you know, ate it in my car right there and then drove home.

I don’t even know what to add. He went on to detail his order — “two tacos and a bean burrito” and added that “it’s routine.” I can’t even imagine what being a Navy SEAL is like, but maybe it’s comforting to enjoy something familiar after a mission so severe and potentially so hazardous.

Just the icing on a few great months for Taco Bell, too. You figure any executives from the other major fast-food players watching the 60 Minutes were all, “What? Oh, c’mon!” The Taco Bell train surges forward.

Taco Bell teens Live Large: The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, through its Graduate to Go initiative, awarded $15,000 worth of scholarships to a group of students from the Carson, Calif. Boys & Girls Club for creating a new Taco Bell menu item that beat competitors in taste tests and will apparently be sold in stores. Their masterwork, the “Live Large Burrito,” beat out a “Volcano Bowl” in the finals, but as far as I can tell the Internet has no word yet on what’s in the forthcoming burrito.

Also, offering scholarships to students who come up with the best new Taco Bell menu item is a wonderful idea and certainly well within the capacity of the geniuses behind Taco Bell. Obviously. But because I am paranoid about a spate of earlier coincidences between Taco Bell marketing initiatives and suggestions made on this blog, I feel obliged to note that I have been advocating a create-a-new-menu-item contest for years now.

Seriously, Taco Bell: If by some chance you’re out there reading, just email me. I’m a huge fan. I think we could do some amazing things together. Speaking of:

Taco Bell builds relationships with consumers and develops its brand within the social-media space by leveraging buzzwords: Or something. Basically, some company tracked which restaurants most effectively used Facebook to advertise and it turns out Taco Bell dominates the field. No surprise there.

The Taco Bell Guy and the Mountain Goat: I don’t know much about Chrisy Ross or her work blogging at the American Fork Citizen, but on principle I support anyone who writes life lessons learned (without pretense or sarcasm or condescension) at Taco Bell. Also, The Taco Bell Guy and the Mountain Goat is the name of my forthcoming roots rock album.