The Chatam House Series by Arlene James

Perhaps from the first moment that a hopeful male plucked a flower and presented it to the object of his desire, flowers have been assigned meanings. Over time, the obvious took precedent and simple observation produced the earliest meanings. The Victorians took the propensity to assign specific meanings to specific flowers to new heights, however. Back then, being well-schooled in the language of flowers, a young lady who received a bouquet from an admirer would know at a glance what he was trying to say to her. Likewise, every matron knew exactly which flowers to display for which occasion.

While the general public may have forgotten those Victorian proscriptions, the modern florist has found it valuable to follow this tradition, which is why we often see certain flowers displayed at certain times. While the assigned meanings of flowers vary from source to source, many have maintained their symbolism. Below is a partial list of the most common flowers and their long-standing meanings.

Amaryllis = dramatic
Anemone = fragility
Apple Blossom = a promise
Aster = contentment
Azalea = abundance
Baby’s Breath = festivity
Bachelor Button = anticipation
Begonia = deeply thoughtful
Black-Eyed Susan = encouragement
Camellia = graciousness
Carnation
Pink = gratitude
Red = flashy
Striped = refusal
White = remembrance
Chrysanthemum
Bronze = excitement
White = truth
Red = sharing
Yellow = secret admirer
Crocus = foresighi
Daffodil = chivalry
Delphinium = boldness
Daisy = innocence
Freesia = spirited
Forget-Me-Not = remember me
Gardenia = joy
Geranium = comfort
Gladiolus = strength of character
Heather = solitude
Hibiscus = rare beauty
Holly = domestic happiness
Hyacinth = sincerity
Hydrangea = perseverance
Iris = inspiration
Ivy = fidelity
Jasmine = grace, elegance
Larkspur = beautiful spirit
Lavender = love at first sight
Lilac = first love
Lily
White = purity
Orange = passion
Magnolia = dignity
Marigold = desire for riches
Nasturtium = Patriotism
Orange Blossom = fertility
Orchid = delicate beauty
Pansy = loving thoughts
Peony = healing
Poppy = consolation
Ranunculus – radiance
Rhododendron = beware
Rose
White = unity, purity
Pink = friendship
Red = passion
Yellow = apology
Orange = gratitude
Snapdragon – presumptuousness
Stephanotis = good luck
Sunflower = adoration
Sweetpea = shyness
Tulip
Red = Declaration of love
Yellow = hopeless love
Purple = royalty
Violet = faithfulness and modesty
Wisteria = steadfastness
Zinnia = thinking of you

TIE-DOWN ROPING or "calf roping" was born from a necessary ranch chore. It is now one of the most competitive and highest earning events in rodeo. Tie-down ropers compete against each other and the clock.

Tie-down ropers mount their highly trained horses and wait in the "box" until the calf is released and the "barrier" (usually a rope pulled across the front of the box and chute) is dropped. As soon as the calf is roped, the cowboy will "dally" his catch rope or lasso and dismount to throw the calf on its side (called "flanking) and tie any three of its legs with a "pigging string," a small rope that the cowboy usually carries in his teeth. Time stops when the cowboy throws up his hands. The cowboy then remounts his horse, slackens his rope and waits 6 seconds. If the calf gets free, the cowboy is disqualified. If the calf remains tied the cowboy receives his time. If the cowboy and his horse take off after the calf before the barrier drops, the roper receives a 10 second penalty.

This event requires a heightened sense of timing, speed, agility and physical strength. Roping horses play a key role in a roper's success and are often very expensive. Horse and roper must train consistently to work well together. Dallying a rope is a dangerous maneuver. While wrapping the lasso around the saddle horn, a roper can easily catch his thumb. If the horse moves while the thumb is caught, it can literally be torn off.

TEAM ROPING is the only truly team event in rodeo. This event, like tie-down roping, originates in the past. One man can handle a calf, but larger cattle have to be immobilized by two ropers. This timed event requires cooperation between the cowboys and their horses, as well as great skill.

As in Tie-Down Roping, the team ropers start from the box. The HEADER goes first and ropes the head of the cow as quickly as possible then quickly turns his horse. He can rope both horns, one horn and the head or the neck. The HEELER follows closely and catches the rear legs of the cow. By "stretching" their ropes, they immobilize the animal together. The clock stops as soon as the ropers are facing each other and both ropes are taut. If the header "breaks the barrier, a 10-second penalty is added to the team time. If the heeler catches only one leg, a 5-second penalty is added. The Crossfire Penalty means that the heeler threw his loop too soon (meaning, before the header turns the steer). A Crossfire Penalty adds 30 seconds to the team time.

STEER WRESTLING (or bulldogging) requires timing, strength and, above all, speed. It's the fastest event in rodeo. Many steer wrestlers are big men. This, too, is a timed event, with cowboys competing against each other and the clock.

The steer wrestler starts out in the box. When ready, he nods his head, and the steer is released. As soon as the barrier drops, he rides after the steer, catching up to it as quickly as possible. He leans over then literally jumps off of his horse to grab the steer by its head, plant his feet and throw the steer onto its side. The clock stops when the steer is down. As in Tie-down and Team Roping, breaking the barrier causes a 10-second penalty, a killer in a event with winning times of under 5 seconds.

Steer wrestlers require the use of a hazer, a mounted cowboy, to ride alongside the steer and keep it running straight. Often, the steer-wrestler owns both the "dogging" horse and the hazer's. While essential, the hazer is not graded on his performance, cannot cause a penalty and usually earns only what the wrestler is willing to pay him.

Some pertinent definitions:

The AVERAGE (or aggregate) is used to determine the best overall performance at a rodeo, particularly a multiple-day rodeo where cowboys compete in more than one "round." Essentially, it's score or time of all the performances added together and divided by the number of go rounds. Winning the average means winning extra money.

A ROUND is simply one turn for every cowboy entered in the competition. When all competitors have had their turn in each of their entered events, the round ends.

A TIMED EVENT is one in which winning means having the fastest time in the competition.

In SCORED events (bull, bareback and saddle bronc riding), judges assign points to competitors based on defined skill levels.

For the purposes of deciding which cowboys reach the annual National Finals, a "POINT" is a dollar earned. Finalists are limited to the top fifteen earners in each event, although ties have resulted in a slightly larger pool of competitors.

Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is played on ice skates and involves using a stick to hit a puck past a goaltender into a net measuring six feet in width and four feet in height. The puck, made of vulcanized rubber, is 1 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter. It weighs between 5.5 and 6 ounces and must be frozen solid for official play. Once a seasonal game popular only in cold climates, hockey is now one of the most popular sports around the world, due to the proliferation of indoor arenas, and one of four major professional sports in North America. Indeed, professional hockey has existed since the early 1900s when the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League began openly paying its players. Today, the National Hockey League, or NHL, is comprised of 30 professional teams divided into six divisions, with players from all over the world, primarily Canada, the U.S.A. and northern and eastern Europe. The annual championship is known as the Stanley Cup, a reference to the actual cup first awarded in 1892 by then Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley of Preston.

It is generally accepted that ice hockey originated in Canada, and there is evidence, mostly via oral histories, that a similar game was played among Mi’kmaq First Nation tribes in Eastern Canada. However, European immigrants brought various games that seemed closely related, particularly the Scottish sport known as “shinty” and Irish “hurling.” The term “shinney,” a derivation of “shinty,” is still used in Canada as slang for an informal type of hockey. It is likely that the game evolved from these beginnings.

Amateur ice hockey leagues for all ages and both genders have flourished in recent years. The rules are fairly simple and resemble those of soccer, with the addition of sticks, pucks and ice skates, of course! Like football, ice hockey is a “full-body contact sport.” Bodychecks are allowed and even encouraged. So, hockey requires protective gear that can be quite pricey. Injuries are still prevalent, however, and professional hockey players are among the toughest sports combatants. It is not unusual for pros to play with broken bones and stitches. Yet, in a sport where career-ending injuries are common and players begin their professional careers as young as 19, many players continue into their late 30s and 40s.

A team consists of offensive players and defensive players. Like basketball, both offensive players and defensive players are fielded at the same time. In ice hockey, a full playing complement is 6 players, 3 on offense and 3 on defense. The offense is comprised of a center and two wings (left and right). The defense is comprised of two defensemen and the goaltender (or goalie). Therefore, except when a team is playing under penalty for infraction of rules (known as a Power Play for a non-penalized team playing against a penalized team), there will be 12 skaters on the ice during a game

A game consists of three twenty-minute periods, with breaks between the first and second periods and the second and third periods for ice resurfacing. A tie results in “instant death” overtime, wherein the first team to score wins. If neither team breaks the tie during overtime, a “shootout” takes place. A fan favorite, a shootout pits three single shooters for each team against the opposing team’s goalie. If the initial 3-player shootout results in a tie, it will continue indefinitely, with one player after another facing the opposing team’s goalie until the tie is broken.

Hockey is a very fast-paced and physically arduous game, with players skating at 20-30 mph and puck speeds that can reach 100 mph. A player’s “shift” on the ice may consist of mere seconds or several minutes. Players take the field for shifts in “lines.” An offensive line consists of the three offensive players (center, left wing, right wing); a defensive line consists of two defensemen (minus the goaltender). Line changes occur without stopping play. One line simply comes “over the wall,” or off the bench, as another skates “out the door,” or off the ice.

The standard professional NHL hockey season is about six-and-a-half months in length, or 82 games, beginning usually around the first of October and ending mid April, with the play-offs to follow. Because the play-offs are conducted by best-of-7-games elimination, the championship (Stanley Cup) series usually takes place in June.

Like baseball, ice hockey is a game of statistics for teams and players, with stats for everything from scoring to assists to save percentages and penalty minutes. Devotees follow the stats of their favorite teams and players closely.

Interesting FAQs:

The ice on a regulation hockey rink is 1” thick and kept at 16˚F.

The Zamboni, so named for the man who designed and built the first ice resurfacing machine, shaves away the top layer of the ice, sweeps up the resulting “snow” and deposits a new layer of water, which almost instantly freezes, to fill in gouges and keep the ice at the required depth.

Professional hockey sticks are now mostly made of composite materials to the specifications of the individual player. When a player breaks a stick during play, he must discard it to the ice, but play does NOT stop. The player can continue without a stick until a break in the action or risk leaving his position to return to the bench for a replacement. Often, another player in a less vulnerable position will pick up a stick and take it to a teammate. Using a broken hockey stick is an infraction of rules that will result in a penalty.

Like sticks, the protective gear worn by professional hockey players are tailored to the individual.

In general, play stops for injuries only if they are incapacitating or result in blood on the ice.

Fighting, while controversial, is generally allowed by NHL officials as long as both combatants maintain their feet, though individual participants (not teams) are penalized. Supporters of fighting in hockey argue that referees cannot catch every infraction and clever “cheaters” can get away with dangerous, unfair activities unless a team “enforcer” makes it clear to the offender that such actions will not be tolerated. Fighting is also sometimes used to “fire up” the instigator’s team or “cool down” the opposing one.

Every NHL goalie has a specially fitted and decorated helmet. A goalie’s pads, or leg shields, alone can cost as much as $1,000.00.

The state with the fastest growing number of amateur hockey teams/leagues is…TEXAS! (more…)