What's all the fuss about anyway?

With each passing year I'm more and more inclined to visit with my mom and sister (if she doesn't have plans) for Thanksgiving and then stay home during the December holidays. What's not to appreciate with a morning walk with the dogs, followed by breakfast, a nice toasty fire in the wood stove, good food in the oven, or Chinese take out (inside joke), holiday-themed movies, and of course, popcorn!

Over the years when I was raising two children with my first wife we would visit with her two sisters and their families throughout the year. Each sister hosted a holiday: Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas with a little Hannukah sprinkled in for me. Meals were an extravaganza with all the trimmings depending upon the holiday.

Now that I think about it, we ALWAYS HAD BLACK OLIVES with every holiday meal. Was it a family tradition or was there something special about those fleshy orbs of fruit?

Botanically speaking, olives are technically fruits because...