Congratulations Danny Boy, you did it!

Danny Veltri is an American hero. He's one hell of a chef, literally. Anyone who could survive FOX reality TV's "Hell's Kitchen" certainly deserves our praise.

With all of the misery around us -- swine flu, car dealerships closing, political sniping in Washington and Tallahassee politicians playing musical chairs -- Thursday night was Danny's night to shine. For his Edgewater family to shine and for New Smyrna Beach to shine. And what a great way for Flip Flops to shine, just four weeks in its new beachside locale.

It was President Truman who once bemoaned ""If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." Well, what greater heat for Danny Boy than "Hell's Kitchen" and that demanding London chef Gordon Ramsay?

Danny Veltri has accomplished more at 23 than some people in a lifetime.

And while it's been said that most of us are lucky if we can make a million bucks over the course of a lifetime, Veltri already has a cool $250,000 job in Atlantic City.

Danny not only showed he was a good sport after a national TV audience learned he had won, but his humility in praising his late mother was awesome. Now that's what being a man is all about.