It’s Becky. You’re stuck with me this week. Mike’s been on the river from daylight to dark relearning everything he can about the river before the tournament in August. Actually, it’s not daylight to dark. It’s before daylight until after dark.
I’ve never seen him work so hard to get ready for a tournament. I really hope it works out. It means so much to him.
We did take one break this past weekend, though. We went to the local rodeo here in New Jersey. It’s called CowTown Rodeo. It was one of the really fun things I can remember doing. Mike said the same thing. We took all four kids and a friend of Mike’s who used to compete in rodeo events. He told us what was going on. None of us had ever been to a rodeo before.
The older girls seemed to like the barrel racing the best. After a while, we figured out that the first barrel is the key to a successful run. The horses go really fast when you actually pay attention to what’s going on. The younger kids liked to watch the horses no matter what they were doing or where they were at. The pageantry of the whole thing caught their eye.
My favorite was the saddle bronc riding. I watched closely to see if I could do what they were doing when I ride the mechanical bulls. And yes, I actually ride the mechanical bull every chance I get.
I was challenged to do it once. That’s all it took. I never turn down a challenge. I’ve been doing it since that night. I will admit, however, that the guys riding the broncs in the rodeo could probably beat me. They look pretty good.
Mike seemed to be interested in what they do in the sport. For him it was mostly all about how the scoring worked and who won what. That’s Mike, you know. I don’t think he’ll trade his boat and tackle for a saddle, though. I think — hope — he has more sense than that. I’m not sure how I’d do as a cowgirl.
We enjoy stuff like that when we’re home, and I appreciate the fact that as busy as Mike is he’ll make the effort to spend time with us and do things as a family, especially things that have nothing to do with fishing. I’m not criticizing fishing, but we all know that there are other things in life that we need to experience. That’s especially true of our kids. They might want to do something different with their life. They’re entitled to make that choice.
This Saturday we’re leaving for a family vacation in the Pocono Mountains. After that we’ll head to ICAST for Mike’s appearances on behalf of his sponsors. He seems to really like that. It gives him a chance to repay them for what they’ve done for him. And it also gives him a chance to help other anglers catch more bass. That’s one of his passions, you know.
Mike will be back next Monday.
Mike Iaconelli’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter or visit his website, MikeIaconelli.com.
