Gov. Greg Abbott basks in 'peaceful' exhilaration after making first parachute jump

FENTRESS — After a turbulent year under the dome of the Texas Capitol, Gov. Greg Abbott found peace in the open sky Monday morning 9,000 feet above a tiny town 45 miles due south of Austin.

That's where the 66-year-old Abbott joined 106-year-old Al Blaschke, who survived the Great Depression, served his country as a tool-and-die maker during World War II and was now set to break the record as the oldest human ever to make a tandem jump from an airplane.

For the three-term Republican governor, his descent from a 1960s-era DHC6 Otter was the fulfilment of a promise he had made to Blaschke and a quiet goal he had set for himself. And once he completed the 7-minute drop from the plane's door to a square patch of sand at Skydive Spaceland in the unincorporated town of Fentress, Abbott was almost blissful during a chat with reporters waiting nearby.

"The most shocking sensation is when you immediately exit the plane, and you're just in freefall," said Abbott, who made a tandem jump with an experienced jumper. "I think my favorite part was when you almost seems like you're at a standstill. It's peaceful and quiet, and a lot of fun."

Abbott was introduced to Blaschke, whose 107th birthday is Jan. 4, by Republican activist Betty Schleder of Georgetown. When she told Abbott that Blaschke was planning his third parachute jump since turning 100, the governor said, "I'll jump with you."

Blaschke was already at Skydive Spaceland and outfitted with his flight suit when Abbott arrived around 8 a.m. and went inside a private room to change into his gear. Once suited up, the two reacquainted with a handshake.

"It's an honor to be out here with you," Abbott told Blaschke, and then asked him the secret to living so long.

"Just keep breathing," Blaschke said with a grin.

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The governor would be joined in the plane by two experienced jumpers from the Texas National Guard who both parachuted solo. Abbott, Blaschke and Schleder were guided down by tandem jumpers. Three videographers documented the even as they also parachuted from the plane.

Before boarding, Abbott appeared relaxed, saying he had been prepped by experts who told him what to expect in the sky. The plane took off a little after 8:30 and climbed north against a mild breeze toward the altostratus clouds that blocked out much of the blue sky. And soon the clouds would block out the shrinking silhouette of the aircraft.

It reemerged a few minutes later, and at 9:02 the first two parachutes opened and the rest just seconds later. From the ground, it was impossible to spot which chutes supported which jumpers. But as they drew closer, it was clear that Abbott and his tandem jumper were the third group to hit the ground.

Aides assisted the governor to his wheelchair and helped him roll through the short grass to the bank of news cameras. As he peeled off his gloves and attempted to tame the patch of salt-and-pepper hair that tousled on the way down, Abbott adopted a mock serious tone.

"My biggest fear was realized, and that is I would land and I would not be able to walk away," deadpanned Abbott, who was paralyzed from the waist down at age 26 when a storm-damaged oak tree fell and crushed several vertebrae that splintered into his spinal cord.

Afterward, he was joined by Blaschke, who told the governor that he sang a favorite song from his childhood during his own time in the air.

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"When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you," Blaschke said as he recalled the tune that was first released when he was 12.

"You're a great American," Abbott replied.

For Blaschke, the jump was a reclamation of a title he first won four years ago. At age 103, he was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records when he became the oldest tandem parachutist. But that record was eclipsed by Linnéa Ingegärd Larsson of Sweden on Oct. 1, 2020. She died at age 104 a little more than a week later.

Abbott's jump, which originally had been planned for several weeks ago but had been postponed because of rain, came 11 days after the Texas House in the it's fourth legislative special session rebuffed Abbott's call for lawmakers to enact a controversial plan that would have allowed tax money to be used to help offset the cost of private school.

Asked if and when he might call the Legislature back for a fifth time, Abbott gave no indication that he wanted talk of politics to distract from the euphoria of his first parachute jump.

"Well, you've got to stay tuned," he said.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Gov. Greg Abbott calls first skydive 'peaceful and a lot of fun'