Ethan Parker

I haven’t blogged in forever- that explains the lengthy length of this piece. I was reading my friend’s super rad blog again and I got all motivated to write.

This post is about the people who have shaped who I am. If I could be more like the following list of wonderful people I would be some kind of all-knowing super hero that shoots lasers out his nose into the sky, illuminating the world and spreading baby unicorns and peace roundabout the land, for the good thereof.

Here they are in order of appearance; besides the last two

Ammon Parker

My older brother has been my hero pretty much since I can remember. He’s never been afraid of anything and is always looking for his next adventure. As kids we were all over the place. We sledded of our roof, mooned innocent bystanders, caught snakes, grasshoppers, and praying mantises. We built countless model airplanes and cars, we blew these models up with illegal fireworks, set stuff on fire, and were never afraid to discharge a firearm whether doing so was a smart or thought-out thing. Home-made silencer. Enough said.

Ammon has always been such a baller. he lead the way on all these adventures and sometimes I felt a little like Chuckie from Rugrats thinking “I don’t think this is such a good idea” but as long as Ammon was there I pretty much felt safe and wasn’t worried.

Teenage years brought a little more gusto to the mix. By this time we had motorcycles that would triple the speed limit. We used to drag race them which was awesome. He then went into the Army to find some more adventure. I didn’t go with this time but I thought it was cool that we were fighting battles simultaneously, I was on a mission and he went to Iraq. While in the Army Ammon ninja threw a huge black guy trying to beat the crap out of him on his birthday, and did a cage fight. A little later he rode a bull. Yup. Here’s the cage fight:

Holy crap that video still gets my adrenaline pumping. He’s the one that wins. Chokes the dude out.

Two days ago Ammon and his wife had their first baby and Tate the Tank was 11lbs 4oz. The doctors said he was pretty strong for a baby and he already thinks he can roll over and hold his head up ha ha.

Hugh Gregson

In the Missionary Training Center Hugh was my branch president, or bishop. He is 6′ 8″ and not small in stature. When I first got into the MTC he said “Your mission has STARTED” and everything changed for me. He finally made being active in the church cool for me. For some reason I never really felt I had met a compelling example of gospel obedience up to that point. People in the church always seemed pretty nerdy or two-faced to me. Hugh was different. He had loads of self-confidence and knew exactly who he was and what he wanted at all times.

Knowing him caused me to re-evaluate what I wanted out of life and make some changes. I decided that I was going to be active in the Church and live what that really meant. I decided to read the scriptures which I had never done with much consistency up to that point. I felt that this was such an important thing that I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning pretty much my entire stay at the MTC reading. I finished the Book of Mormon then read through the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the New Testament for the first time. It was great. I really felt like a new man.

Hugh was part of the biggest turning point in my life up to now.

Janie Thompson

Janie is one of the most amazing, talented, hard-working, inspirational, loving, listening, aware people I have ever met. She is simply a wonder. To know that people like her exist really makes me feel better about the planet and life itself. It’s also motivating. I have a whole topic on this blog about her. Here’s how we met. She started BYU’s Young Ambasadors and Lamanite Generation, now known as Living Legends. Early in her life she sang with Tony Bennett and personally knew Mickey Rooney. She also served on the Young Women’s General Board for 16 years.

Seriously one of the coolest people ever. She called me today and it was so great to hear from her, I usually go visit a few times a month. I have so many great memories of Janie since I’ve lived here in Provo and consider her one of my closest friends.

Rosalind Hall

I met sister Hall in January of 2007 when I was fresh off the mission. I saw Men’s Chorus do a dress rehearsal of some Disney songs and it totally rocked. 200 very talented guys rocking it out and having tons of fun. I tried out for the BYU Men’s Chorus. After getting past the graduate student screening it was time to meet my maker, the Welsh-accented lovely sister Hall. I was nervous about auditioning so I had my friend Kip give me a crash course 2 days before. Under “experience” on my application I put “one hour with Kip from Singers” to which she replied “what makes you think you can sing in the Men’s Chorus???” ha ha. I looked her square in the face and said “because I want to”. She said “do the University Chorale (an unauditioned choir class) and come see me in the fall”. That’s exactly what I did. Oh yeah and did I mention I was extremely sick for that first audition? Yes I was.

Men’s Chorus was an amazing experience I wouldn’t trade. I got to hear from her 5 days a week which was like a motivational speaker mixed with an LDS general authority every day. I also got to sing in General Conference in April 2008. Look for the guy on the end with a wicked sun burn from snowboarding. Men’s Chorus totally rocks. Here’s them doing a flash mob. I wasn’t part of this but you get the idea.

Nerd power. Men’s Chorus rocks, if you’ve never been to one of their shows it’s a must.

Mike Zevallos

Winter semester 2007 I was taking a Spanish class and a couple kids came in asking for volunteers to mentor kids. They espcially needed people that spoke Spanish to help out with the kids whose parents spoke Spanish. I was feeling really lucky at the time because I was able to quit a crap telemarketing job because of some financial from my sister. I needed to study extra hard so I could get into the accounting program at BYU. I decided to be a mentor.

I worked with a kid over the summer then got paired up with Mike in September. He was 9 years old and super cute kid. His biological father left when he was 3 and passed away in prison when he was 7 years old. His step father who pretty much raised him had three more children with his mom and they split up when Mike was 8. You wouldn’t know it from getting to know Mike, though. He has always been a very happy, smart, and motivated kid. I feel lucky to know him.

We try to see each other every week and do something fun whether it’s play frisbee, soccer, get Jamba Juice, go to a football/basketball game, or go on an unexpected crazy snow hike. Mike has greatly enriched my life and I’m so grateful for him. He’s the closest thing I have to a son and he has made me look very much forward to having children of my own.

Last and anything but least are my parents, Don and Tish Parker.

They are amazing. I can’t imagine what it would be like to raise 6 children. Three boys, three girls, and we’re all doing great raising our own families or preparing to do so. My mom and dad are super cool. They have certainly allowed me to make my own mistakes and be free but at the same time have given much-needed guidance at the right times. I owe them a ton. They always paid for sports I did as a kid and came to all my games. They paid for me to serve a mission, too, which is something not all parents can do. Since I’ve been at college they always came to my choir concerts and come down here often to do fun stuff or take me out to dinner and buy me groceries and things like that. It’s awesome. Couldn’t ask for better parents in college. It’s kind of nice that they moved up here to Utah from AZ, too. And nice that my dad introduced me to the joy that is late model BMWs, ha ha. Theirs is way cool and they let me drive it a lot when they first bought it. Yea, even to LA where my brother and I left for our super sweet cruise last summer.

I shant leave out my other siblings. My younger brother Eric has been my best friend for a long time now. We share a ton of interests and no one can make me laugh like him. We were in a band together, rode motorcycles together, and have been roomates for the past 3 years. Eric rules. It’s his birthday soon! My sisters rock, too. Emily is fun because we can talk about BYU and music and stuff. She’s brilliant and I love her personality, she funny, too. Ahlena is like Yoda. She’s a great listener and she’s always very interested in what you are doing and what you have to say. If she gives advice it’s always from the heart and is timely and usually needed. My youngest older sister Anna is super cool, too. She owns a dance studio and is always lotsa fun. Her daughters are super funny and I love hanging out with them. I got to go there earlier this year for a trade show, soooooo nice to stay with them and see them instead of staying in some lame hotel. They might be moving out west some time soon which is super exciting!! It will be awesome to have Anna and her family nearby.

After work today I was feeling like a walk so that’s what I did. I cruised around my hood and decided to visit The Great Janie Thompson because I haven’t seen her since my NY trip. I just love visiting that woman. She’s always full of smiles, stories, and laughter. On my way back she called me and said she had a book she wanted to give me. It was “Women of Character, stories of 100 Prominent LDS Women” by Susan Easton Black. Janie signed inside the cover of this book for me and it says this:

The Book:

No, not the Mexican beer, that’s Dos Equis. The chromosomes. There are individuals in my life with these that have made it so much better.

Number One brought me into this world and I had a very pleasant conversation with her the other day. I just called to get some advice on some leek and potato soup as she is an expert, even an artist. She offered some much appreciated encouragement and as always it was great to talk. She brought up three totally rockin sisters of mine who always have my back.

Number Two is a close friend named Janie Thompson who has a category on this blog. I visited her two days ago and we did our usual sit on the couch and chat for a while. Her sister passed away about a month ago which was sad but also a release because she had suffered from alzheimers for so long. Janie is a bright spot all the time. She could have gone on for a while about what she suffers from physically but instead, as always, chose to tell me some great stories. Janie has sung with Tony Bennett, personally knew Mickey Rooney, and started BYU’s Young Ambassadors. She is such and inspiration and I love chatting with her.

Numbers Three are all the great gals here in Utah Valley. Many they are and their greatness is great. Every once in a while you find some that are refreshingly honest and real. I like those kind.

I saw this movie tonight called RED with Bruce Willis. It was great. I liked it a lot. It was almost like a romantic comedy with lots of explosions and guns. Something for everyone I guess. Those movies are hilarious, I love the fights where every blow would incapacitate any human being in real life but there they go, getting up and giving more at every turn.

Eric and I went to Nicoitalia today. The best pizza place in the Universe. You just have no idea. Owner: a dude named Nick from Boston with a saw-weet accent. Cannolis: ridiculous good and CHEAP. Wings: off the chain and come with Newman’s Own ranch dressing- that crap is not sold in any store- I’ve checked. Pizza: don’t even try to tell me you’ve had better. I’m going to NY in May if you think they can beat it then give me a name, and address, and a dang-well written piece of prose explaining yourself.

Janie never ceases to amaze me. She’s one of those people that always inspires no matter the time or place. I went and checked my PO box today, there was a credit card offer, a couple checks for Parker Planners, and a letter from Janie Thompson. Of course I opened that one first.

To my surprise it was this!

It’s a thank-you note in the shape of two hands clapping! She said she wanted to give me a standing ovation for still taking out her recycling. What a funny, hip, and classy lady. If you’re not sure who she is, she’s a great friend I met 4 years ago when I first got to BYU, she just turned 87 this year.

Janie just called me this morning, I treasure every time we talk or get to visit. She wanted to remind me to come get the tickets from “Janie’s Will Call” i.e. the top of her piano in the front room. For the 4th year in a row she’s giving me front center tickets to the BYU (Homecoming) Spectacular. It’s a great show every time!

For an explanation of who Janie is, see the “Janie” category on right side of this blog. I feel like I need to write down everything that happens between us because she won’t be around forever and she’s such a special person. In today’s conversation some highlights were “I can’t see anything these days, but I put my glasses on so I could hear you”. Man she is so hilarious. I love the way she says goodbye on the telephone, too. It’s so abrupt it caught me off guard for a long time. She just says “goodbye!” with a very cheerful voice but you can never predict in the conversation when it will come haha! I love it. I wish we could all be a little more like that, happy, cheerful, not all in a huff about formalities and all that.

Janie has set me up many times, she’s great. I think I’ve been on a date with all her grand-nieces that ever went to BYU.

I just got back from visiting her today. Janie amazes me all the time. She just told me a story where she was over in Europe performing with Tony Bennett for the troops and at one point Mickey Rooney was leaning over the piano she was playing and made a comment about they lyrics of the song she was singing. It caused her contemplation and decided that she would only sing lyrics that had an influence for good.

Ever heard of Jane Clayson? She was on Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and did ABC News. She covered the 1996 Presidential campaign, the OJ Simpson trial, and September 11. Yup. I was on facebook today and saw that one of my friends, Spencer Nugent, was feature on mormon.org with a neat video story about him, and Jane had one, too! Whoa.

Here’s the link:

Very cool how she views motherhood. What do they do all day anyway? Well yo momma raised you didn’t she? I side with Jane in that momhood is important, vital stuff.

My friend Janie Thompson knows Jane Clayson Johnson (married name) really well and told me a story about Clayson’s sister once. She and her husband both got law degrees and didn’t have children until their 30’s. Mormons are usually known for getting married while preteens and having 14 children, but I guess even peculiar folks like us are different from one another.

If you haven’t heard that name yet, you’ve missed out on one of the world’s truly great people right here in Provo. Today is her 88th birthday and she’s as spry as ever and full of songs and jokes. Yesterday I went to visit and take out the news paper recycling and we sat down and talked for a bit. I feel lucky to know her. Here is how we met:

September 13, 2006 my dad and I drove my 1986 VW Jetta from Ventura, CA to Kaysville, UT. It was a gift from my dad’s cousin in Valencia marking the end of my LDS mission. The next day I started classes at BYU. I was still getting used to Provo and had no idea where anything was so I used to drive to class and park in nearby neighborhoods. One rainy day I was headed back to my car when I saw a nice lady walking in the rain with an umbrella. I said “Hi, how are you?” -she looked excited and walked up to me with a reply “Did you say hi, Janie?!?!”. I’m sure I looked a little confused while shaking my head.

I asked her where she was going in that kind of weather and she mentioned that she was headed downtown to pick up some typewriter ribbon. I offered a ride and off we went. I didn’t know they still made typewriter ribbon! She was so kind and honest in the way she spoke.

After we got there she said I didn’t have to wait for her and that I could just go back home. I was going to take her up on the offer, but thought that just wouldn’t be right. Rain, she’s old, I guess my conscience wouldn’t let me. When I was about to drop her off she offered to have me over for dinner that Sunday. I accepted. From then on we had a deal where I would do some yard work or chores around their house and they would feed me. She lives with her sister and brother-in-law and a grand-niece. She also offered to give me two tickets to the Homecoming Spectacular at BYU in a couple weeks. I thought that was cool, and it was if you’ve never been.

That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Corny phrase, yes. Janie has made my experience at BYU something totally different and special. I really feel like I am a part of something great because I know Janie and have heard all of her amazing stories about how she started the Young Ambassadors, performed with Tony Bennet, founded Lamanite Generation (now Living Legends), did over 2000 shows in her career and jammed with Glenn Miller overseas in WWII. She also served on the Young Women’s General Board for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 16 years.

Janie’s testimony is rock solid, too. She really has helped me stay on the right path since I have been home from my mission. Being accountable to her makes me live at a standard much higher than normal.

Last summe the city of Provo asked Janie to to a musical she wrote about 20 years ago called “We the People” and I got to be in it. It was also part of a documentary BYU recently did on Janie’s life entitled “Performance of Faith” that has been on KBYU a few times. The picture below is of Janie and I last summer. I hope she doesn’t mind (but probably won’t ever see it!) I have embedded a video of a song she performed at the closing banquet for the BYU football team from the 2006 season. It’s just an example of the hundreds if not thousands of great and super cheerful songs she has written over the years. This was a special serenade just for me in her living room, I wasn’t invited to the football thing.

If you’ve ever heard me talk about her or met her, that probably means we are really good friends. Read about her if ya like:

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From the Ensign