A slender portrait of Ike Glick to mark the abstraction and reality of his 90th birthday

Here are some names:
Pioneer, bush pilot, itinerate teacher,
wry pundit, incisive scribe, ironic modern prophet
path-maker, risk-taker, innovator,
restless parishioner, reluctant preacher,
patient gardener, peaceful practitioner of all things quotidian,
happy husband (luckily married to Millie),
father, grandfather…
friend.

A couple of defining images:
Flyer, water bearer.
(Pegasus Aquarius)

Mulls the mystery of being
while standing on a ladder cleaning out the eaves.

A reader, a planter, a weeder, a beautifier,
with reasonable Bocce Ball skills.

An activist for peace with a knowledge of root cellars.

A letter-writer, sign-carrier for equality,
for the rights of indigenous peoples,
for the rights of the biosphere.
for the rights of the poor.

A quester and questioner with
a facility for Scrabble and the know how
to drill the right size holes in bird houses.

Could pontificate if he chose to,
but too earthed to have it cross his mind.

Able to read the mood of skies while
following the feet of grandchildren.

Walks through his days with generosity,
not unacquainted with loss, sorrow, pain,
knows the chaos and grace of community
and the importance of having a rain gauge.
and a stocked larder (knows what a larder is).

A nuanced believer
with the compassion and good-humour of a luckless dowser.

Composes treatises on the nature of faith, justice, charity,
and knows where to find wild blueberries.

Happy 90th Birthday Ike!

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A recommendation: a couple years ago Ike and Millie published a memoir of sorts:

This book can be very helpful as we all seek to build bridges and seek ways to help implement the 94 calls to action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

          -Jim Shantz, co-coordinator of Indigenous Neighbors for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Alberta.

To order Risk and Adventure, email Ike at: imglick52 [at] gmail.com

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(Photos courtesy of the Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta)