Thank you ITPjohn, CODAchild and Liebling for your interest and responses. Sorry I have been away due to a surprise visit by a deaf couple from Canada! We have been chatting and going places, ate at restaurants and sightseeing and been coming home late at nights. I will try to respond more quickly. Thanks for your patience.
Yes, ITPjohn, I'm in the 55-59 age group and will move up to the 60-64 age group by the end of this year.
What happened when I saved my parents lives on two separate occasions? First about my dad... one summer morning my dad came in the house and said he needed my help to get back a heifer which is a young cow that has not yet had a calf. It escaped from the corral the night before and been eating in the neighbor's field. We lived in a rural (farm) area. It was not the first time we chased down our cattle and I thought it was another typical day of more running, chasing and sweating events. The neighbor was nice about it and had called to notify my family about "that-darn-heifer" and later learned it was no Disney story and I had a pretty scary experience with that animal. I don't think anybody at that time ever saw how mean and dangerous a heifer can be, but here it is... I grabbed a thick, sturdy stick about 5 feet long and called it my staff (as in Moses' staff) and went with dad. We walked by foot across the road from our farm home, walked in the neighbor's field toward the heifer. It saw us coming and started running away to the other end of the field until it came to another fence and turned to run along the fence line. We made sure it would not run past us and the neighbor's son, Mike, who was about 16 years old opened the gate of their corral and the heifer ran inside. Mike closed the gate. Mike sat on the corral fence while I stood inside the corral nearby him and watched my dad take a rope and made several attempts to lasso the animal, but it was running very fast from the north end of the corral to the south end and back to the north on and on. It finally stopped to get second wind, then ran again as dad approached it. He finally threw a perfect loop around the neck of the animal as it zoomed past. Dad had plenty of rope to give so he let the heifer run a little ways to the south end of the corral then back toward the north of the corral. The heifer, not liking the rope around its neck, became very angry and charged at dad striking him in the left knee as it ran toward the south end. Dad was down and in so much pain and he tried to get back up. He was still holding on the rope. The heifer turned around and boy!... I never seen anything like the way that animal ran. You know those white horses in Germany and other places that were trained to give shows and the way they proudly danced? Well, this heifer lifted its right hoof high, then left, right, left as if it was chopping the ground, but it was fast paced and made a straight line for dad. I had wondered over the years if the heifer thought it was an experienced bull or something of that nature, but at that critical moment, I knew it meant really big trouble because dad still could not get up so immediately without thinking of my own safety, I ran as fast as I possibly could and I estimated I had to get myself to a spot close to dad and that point had to be between dad's feet and the heifer. I gave all the speed I had. By the time I reached the point of meeting the heifer, I quickly thrust my staff into the heifer's neck and let out a yell, "HYAAAHHHH!" The heifer changed its direction off to the side away from me and ran past dad. When the heifer reached the north end of the corral, I immediately stood between dad and that crazy animal. I was so shaken and asked dad to get up because the heifer was eyeing dad again and it sure looked ready to make another charge. I wanted to help dad get up, but I dared not turn my head the other way. Dad finally got up. Mike who was still sitting on the west side of the corral fence was obviously scared at what he witnessed. Dad asked him if we could borrow their tractor. Mike said, "Sure!" About 10-15 minutes later, Mike drove the tractor in the corral. Dad tied the rope on the back of the tractor and we pulled the stubborn animal to the road with dad limping. The heifer was so stubborn and angry it did not like to be pulled. It resisted with such sheer determination that it soon passed out and fell when the rope was so tight around its neck. Dad asked Mike to back the tractor up and he loosed the rope from the back of the tractor and tied it to the front, then loosed the rope around the heifer and stood away. We waited until the heifer regained consciousness and stood up. Dad thought he was at a safe distance from the heifer and again that mad animal struck dad in the stomach, knocking him down on the side of the road. Luckily, dad's head landed hard on gravel. Gravel hurts, yes, but not like hard paved road. I was SO angry I could not describe how angry I was at that heifer. I wanted to borrow dad's hunting rifle and shoot it dead so we would not have to buy hunting license, deer tag and make a trip up the mountains... it would all be done at home and that's it! We would have our dinner made! Dad got up a little faster this time and I was like "spitting fire from my teeth" at that heifer. But dad kept his cool and it took half a day to finally get the heifer back to where it belonged. It was about 1/4 mile struggle from the neighbor's home to ours. I really don't remember exactly how old I was, but between 12 and 14 years old.
Saving my mom was not as dramatic, but she lost her balance and fell on hard floor in our home and broke her right shoulder. I rushed to make her as comfortable as possible then ran outside to call dad and told him that mom is hurt and that she fell. Dad ran from the back yard toward the house and went in. He called the doctor and took mom to the hospital. The next two days later, mom praised me for comforting her. She asked me, "What made you think of getting my pillow to put it under my head?" If you had not done that, I believe I would have died of shock". I learned something from her statement that people can die of shock. I never knew that before and being as young as I was, I still do ask myself the same question, "What made me think of getting that pillow?" Mom said it made all the difference in the world and told me how thankful and proud she was. I was like, "Awww, gee! Heehee!"
Thank you for asking ITPjohn. I hope that answers your question.
Thank you for sharing your story CODAchild and I commend you for taking good care of your children as your very own. Do you happen to know Art Linkletter? He ran a TV series with children years ago, about the 1950's. He said that he was adopted and that it is truly a blessing that parents adopt children and take good care of them. Thank you for your well wishes and may God bless you and your family also.
Thanks again Liebling for the acknowledgement and I truly appreciate it. I like your quote, "Love & Respect." Love, harmony, peace, respect and good will toward all is a very wonderful feeling.
Take care, everyone... and God bless!
If there is a disagreement, we should respect and try to understand and accept them or get along as best as possible. It does not mean we have to agree with certain things. But if certain things are tested and proven, then what can we do, but accept? I do hope all of us are able to make up and be friends after a quarrel. The brighter side in me is that I love to help other people. I love to meet new people and make new friends and keep old friends. I believe life is very beautiful. Of course, life is what you make it to be. Hello, everyone! Thank you for sharing and caring!!!!! 
welcome to AD Rickcares -- enjoy ur stay! 
Hello and Welcome to Alldeaf, Rickcares!!!! What a nice introduction!! You will like it here with us, everyone is very friendly and wonderful. I agree with the others that we like to hear more about you!!
