Thursday, April 23, 2009

My amazing dad.

HS-Inca-TrailJonParker-300

I received this email from my dad yesterday:

I was checking out Twitter, because I didn’t understand how it worked. I came across a gymnastics site that was asking for Handstand pictures, so I sent one. I received a reply from Amy van Deusen saying she wanted to feature it on her site. The result http://gymnastics.about.com/ scroll down a bit.

dad


The article on about.com features the picture of my dad in Peru last December.

Photo of the Week: One of the Highest Handstands in the World
Wednesday April 22, 2009

Above, Jon Parker, 72, does a handstand on the Inca Trail at 13,800 feet.

Parker started gymnastics in 1949, and did all-around (including a rope climb) for Georgia Tech. He sometimes competed on a hardwood or even concrete floor, "which sounds awful," he says, "[but] the skills done were not up to the level of today." Parker took the all-around gold in the Southern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League in 1957, and became the first gymnast to be inducted into the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame.

Though Parker retired from competition after college, he continued to work out, and now goes to the Houston Gymnastics Academy. His goal? To do giants, "in spite of somewhat painful shoulders."

Parker has hiked coast to coast across England, the Milford Track in New Zealand, the Grand Canyon, the Teton and Wind River Mountains, and many other trails. He jokes, "Don’t be too hard on the big arch [in my handstand]. My arms will not go straight over my head, and the straight body handstand was not critical in my era."


Note from Eloise: My dad's athletic ability and love for hiking are, sadly, completely missing from my genetic code.

13 comments:

Preppy Pettit said...

That is so amazing!!

Kristin Neely said...

What an incredible photo! And your dad is in better shape than I am!

JoAnn said...

This made me laugh so hard

"Note from Eloise: My dad's athletic ability and love for hiking are, sadly, completely missing from my genetic code."

Except what about all that hiking you recently did in Italy, my dear????

Your dad is some guy!

Amber M. said...

Wow. I say again, wow. Simply amazing!! And he's 72?? Amazing.

fleur de lis cottage said...

Way to go! Your dad is awesome and inspiring!

Unknown said...

I am so jealous. I couldn't do that when I was in my teens. I love that he was checking out twitter ha!

Rachel said...

That picture is amazing and the story on your dad is so cool. Even cooler is that your 70-something dad is trying to figure out twitter!

Seriously, though, I can tell you're proud of your dad and it seems that he deserves it!

Biba Parker said...

Hey, your mother was along for the ride, on all these adventures, albeit I didn't always go willingly and I'm much younger!! Biba

The Mrs. said...

I cannot believe that is your Dad!!!!!! Amazing!

annechovie said...

I am very impressed! That's great, Eloise...you must be proud. Great to catch up on your life, as always. Hope you're having a great weekend!

Erin said...

That is remarkable! I love the setting, too. A once-in-a-lifetime photo, Eloise! You must be proud of him. What a cute Dad he is!

cheryl said...

matt has been asking me for weeks to try to stand on my hands. needless to say, he was amazed to see aunt eloise's dad doing this! very inspirational! does he do yoga?

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

I LOVE this photo!
What a Dad, eh!!