A late morning brunch at Lisa’s Christmas day. The grandkids all excited. Ran outside to greet me when I arrived exclaiming…..Santa brought us new bicycles for Christmas!

That is what it is all about.

Brunch was everything! And then more!

After brunch, I remained at Lisa’s to do yesterday’s blog. My computer kaput again. The old computer at home is only good for research and reading. I cannot type on it.

I returned home early afternoon. My Christmas day was done.

I am writing/researching two books at the same time. One of them includes Lyons, France during World War II. I was into Lyons yesterday big time. The underground blowing up roads and bridges, killing specific German officers, identifying collaborators, getting into Gestapo maintained prisons to save people, and the torture and execution of underground members.

Christmas greetings were received yesterday from all over the world. Included in the group were Rita from Calitzdorp, South Africa, Anna, Antonio and Miriam from Novara, Italy, Flora from Albania, and Jenna from Indiana. Several were received from various parts of Greece.

The world keeps getting smaller.

Christmas has changed over the years. This Christmas was different from the Christmas of my youth. As many have been over the years. Square One’s Carmelo and I had this discussion last week. Nothing is the same. The only constant seems to be change. With everything.

I asked Novara’s  Anna what Northern Italians eat on Christmas day. Not a turkey. Beef is a rarity. The traditional choice is a capon.  The denutted/castrated male chicken. Big breasted, much meat. Tender and juicy.

Anna told me she boils the capon. What a waste, I thought. Why not stuff it and shove it in the oven? Not the custom, I was told. The capon is boiled and then served covered with milk. She claims it tastes good!

My grandmother would prepare two capons on the holidays. They were cheap to buy. Meat never saw any table I was at back then. I assume because of cost.

There were no Publixs or Winn-Dixies back in the late 1930s and through the 1940s. Chickens were purchased at a chicken store. There were three within a four block radius of where we lived. Only chickens sold. The customer picked out the chicken desired. All chickens were live. A person working the store would take the chicken behind the counter and start the process. It began with chopping the poor chicken’s head off.

I have no idea where a person in the United States would buy a capon these days.

Tomorrow is my TV/internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. In addition to the items forth yesterday, I am going to talk about the VA hospital that refuses to accept Christmas cards with the word Christmas anywhere thereon. No Merry Christmas at that VA hospital! Stupid political correctness. A step too far. Not representative of the United States I grew up in.

Another issue involves genetically modified fruits and vegetables. The big corporations who own the mega farms are pursuing legislation permitting their label on the foodstuffs to read “Natural.” If successful, the U.S. will be the only country in the world to so do. All other countries label genetically modified foods as being genetically modified.

The show is at 10 in the morning my time. It can be viewed on television from Key West through Boca Raton on Comcast Channel 87 and U-Verse Channel 19. The show is also available worldwide via the internet. www.weyw19.com.

Enjoy your day!