Thanksgiving With Ike: Photos

Welcome to the Iaconellis...

[Read db's story on his Thanksgiving with the Iaconellis here]

...and Thanksgiving with Ike...

...at their home on a peaceful New Jersey lake...

...things are a little hectic around here...Michael's wife Becky, or Beckonelli as I call her is running around managing turkey, kids, family...this is her first time hosting Thanksgiving Dinner and she has to do it with me sticking a camera in her face...

...while at the same time learning on the job about the mysteries of...

...brussel sprouts and...

...and a 24 pound, still a bit frozen, bird...

...while Becky and my wife, Barb, and Becky's and Michael's family work on the bird, Michael takes me on a tour of the property...and there sitting all by itself...

...is the dude's first tournament boat, "I fished my first tournaments out of this, it had a trolling motor front and back, started out in this boat 20 years or so ago."

Coming to Thankful...that you can go from a Coleman Crawdad to Bassmaster Angler of the Year and Bassmaster Champion and all that brings.

Back inside, the family dog waits for...

...droppings like this...

...or some of the other fixins...

...that are smelling mighty good...

...as Becky and her dad start the final process with the bird...

...Michael takes me into his office and shows me this...

...his huge collection of Privy dug...

...ink bottles...

...some of which...

...go back...

...hundreds of years...

"...db it is just like fishing, you locate a spot and you start working it, and then suddenly in the wall of dirt, sitting just like this, you see it...THE FIND...man it is all about the find..."

...and this is the guy who helped Michael find most of the bottles...his Uncle Don....the man who became a father figure in Michael's life when Michael's father was killed back when Michael was just 2 years old, "I would have been lost, lost if not for Uncle Don...lost db."

Back in the kitchen, dinner is ready...

...but you know what...Thanksgiving...Thanksgiving ain't about the bird...

...it's about this...family...

...it's about holding...

...your children...

...be it being held by Dad...

...or grandad...

...it's about watching your older children grow up...

...it's about being lucky enough to marry The Find in your life as my wife, Barb is to me...

....it's about sitting with family and saying thanks...

...thanks for dogs who listen and wait...

...and the children, who don't. Happy Thanksgiving, may coming to thankful, come your way. db