Daddy and His Pineapple Plantation Owner's Hat

When my father retired, he gleefully shed the tailored suits, French cuffs, silk ties and wing-tipped brogues my mother had picked out for him during his working life. In retirement, he wallowed in his own questionable taste, a byproduct of his color blindness.

Polyester blue and white checked pants, red and white striped shirts and a canary yellow sports jacket became the foundation of his leisure wardrobe.

The piece de resistance was a straw fishing hat from the fifty-cent table at Rose's discount store.

The hat was a plain straw boater -- the type worn by gondoliers in Venice or aristocratic Southern gentleman sipping juleps on their verandas.

However, it was accented by a tie-dyed band with all the colors of the Sgt. Pepper's album cover in the mix. And two plumey little feathers -- one red, one yellow --like the ones gracing the tips of plastic wands at Pet Smart. My cats, and not a few pimps, would have loved that hat.

My mother dubbed it "The Pineapple Plantation Owner's" hat. It became Daddy's signature accessory, as much a part of him as his horn-rimmed bi-focals.

He wore his new hat to the grocery store, the swimming pool, family picnics, even to Saturday evening Mass. Daddy claimed he wore the hat to protect his middle-aged bald spot from the sun. But I think he liked wearing it because, like Superman's cape, it unleashed his true nature.

Wandering around the New Orleans French Quarter, Downtown Biloxi or Edgewater Mall, while wearing the hat, Daddy could happily warble Christmas songs in July. Or speak pig Latin. Loudly. The prissy teenager in me was horrified and humiliated The other part of me was proud. My friends all thought he was original and cool. And he was.

No doubt encouraged by the hat, Daddy, taught my sister and me the fine art of swearing well. Not blue language that would get us in trouble but colorful original nonsensical phrasings that vented steam and got us giggling.

Goodnessgraciousjalapenopeppersheavenstobetsyhoohoohoo was one of our favorites.

The Pineapple Plantation Owner's Hat made life a little funnier and gave us all permission to act a little sillier. It became a beloved member of our family - rather like our poodle Tejean.

It left our lives as it had entered them-- as a fishing hat. One windy day, near Popp's Ferry bridge, a gust plucked the hat from Daddy's head and sent it skimming over the water. As my sister and I keened and wailed from the shore, it started taking on water, slipping ever further beneath the choppy waves, finally disappearing from view.

It was a noble end. A Viking burial without the funeral pyre.

And that hat deserved no less.

Coca Cola Cake

Daddy often wore the hat on picnics, including our annual Father's Day family picnics at Flint Creek Water Park in Wiggins. My mother usually baked a Coca Cola sheet cake for these occasions. I'm not sure if she got the recipe from Southern Living magazine or from Connie Bea Hope and Estelle Payton on their cooking show on Channel 5 out of Mobile.

They were sure good.

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon, baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup of carbonated cola beverage (I like Coca Cola, but you can use what you like. Just don't use diet cola)
1 cup butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (real vanilla, please, not vanilla flavoring)
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
Cola frosting (see below)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine flour, soda, soda and sugar. Stir well and set aside.

Combine cola, butter and cocoa in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Gradually stir into flour mixture. Stir in buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and marshmallows. Pour into a greased and floured 13x9x2 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Spread cola frosting over the cake while still warm. Sprinkle with pecans. Let cool.

Cola Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup Coca Cola (or your favorite cola brand -- again, no diet soda)
3 tablespoons cocoa
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine butter, cola, and cocoa in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar and vanilla.