Happy Father's Day

Billy Collins remembers his father in this poem"The Death of the Hat." It evoked memories of my growing up years when my father always wore a hat and an overcoat when he left the house.

Collins writes...
On Father's Day, "The Death of the Hat." For all of the fathers out there and for everyone who had (or has) a father. Hats off to you.

THE DEATH OF THE HAT
by Billy Collins June 16, 2013

Once every man wore a hat.

In the ashen newsreels,
the avenues of cities
are broad rivers flowing with hats.

The ballparks swelled
with thousands of straw hats,
brims and bands,
rows of men smoking
and cheering in shirtsleeves.

Hats were the law.
They went without saying.
You noticed a man without a hat in a crowd.

You bought them from Adams or Dobbs
who branded your initials in gold
on the inside band.

Trolleys crisscrossed the city.
Steamships sailed in and out of the harbor.
Men with hats gathered on the docks.

There was a person to block your hat
and a hatcheck girl to mind it
while you had a drink
or ate a steak with peas and a baked potato.
In your office stood a hat rack.

The day the war was declared
everyone in the street was wearing a hat
and they were wearing hats
when a ship loaded with men sank in the icy sea.

My father wore one to work every day
and returned home
carrying the evening paper,
the winter chill radiating from his overcoat.

But today we go bareheaded
into the winter streets,
stand hatless on frozen platforms.

Today the mailboxes on the roadside
and the spruce trees behind the house
wear cold white hats of snow.

Mice scurry from the stone walls at night
in their thin fur hats
to eat the birdseed that has spilled.

And now my father, after a life of work,
wears a hat of earth,
and on top of that,

A lighter one of cloud and sky--a hat of wind.

Celebrate the day with

Mexican Chocolate Ice-Cream Pie
Cook's notes: This pie is decadent but well worth the splurge for a festive occasion such as Father's Day. And with warm muggy weather it will be a refreshing treat. The pie will last in your freezer for up to a month but its unlikely that will happen.
The recipe was adapted from Southern Living August 2012
I used Haagen-Dazs coffee and chocolate ice-cream (each container is 14 oz.)

Ingredients:

• 3-1/2 cups of finely ground graham crackers 
• 1 tsp. cinnamon 
• 5 TB. melted butter 
• 1/2 cup mini semi-chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup toasted coconut
• 1 pt. container coffee ice cream-softened 
• 1 pt. container chocolate ice cream-softened 
• 1 cup whipping cream 
• 3 TB. coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua) 

Directions:

• Preheat oven 350.
• Use a blender or food processor to finely grind the graham cracker into crumbs. Add in cinnamon and melted butter, mix well. 
• Reserve 1 cup crumbs and press 2-1/2 cups of crumb mixture into a pie pan.
• Bake 6-7 minutes, set aside to cool.
• Stir together reserved 1 cup graham crumbs, mini-chocolate chips, toasted coconut and pecans. Set aside.
• Spread softened coffee ice-cream evenly over baked cooled crust. Sprinkle 1/2 cup crumb mixture (crumbs, chips, coconut, pecans) over the coffee ice cream layer. 
• Freeze until firm
• Repeat with next layer of softened chocolate ice cream and sprinkle with rest of graham cracker mixture (reserve 1 tsp.) and freeze until firm.
• Beat whipped cream, add in Kahlua and spread over the top of each pie serving or over top of entire pie. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. 
• Serve immediately. Leftover pie should be stored in freezer, covered with foil.