The Cowboy
by Chris Rini

Not allowed to ride the bigger horse
I stood there so forlorn;
But when he put me in that saddle,
A new cowboy was born.
On a palomino pony named Dolly
He taught me how to ride,
My tiny boots just dangling
Down that stumpy pony's sides.
Even pony stirrups hung too low
For my short legs to reach,
A stranger to the animals
I grew up in an Orange County beach.

Gripped with adventure I clung to the horn
As he slowly walked Dolly around a barrel turn.
His constant smile gleamed with pride 
As he hummed Bonanza's theme;
I think he knew he was fulfilling
A little britches' dream.
I had boots just like him, hat and bandana too,
And I said “Now I'm a rider! A cowboy just like you!”

He spoke to us of the world
With constant genuine wonder,
And I know it hurts right now
But now we'll never be asunder.

He's the whisper in our ears,
The bucking stallion in our spirit,
The constant reminder: when we find a blue whale, 
Cheer it.
He shall always be 
That reverence in our hearts,
And we'll never forget the magic
That a true cowboy imparts.

He is the reason I love knots. A 3 year old with a short piece of rope and an even shorter attention span is not an easy thing to deal with, but my Grandpa was always excited—not just willing, but truly excited—to teach me a new knot.

He was ever the Boy Scout: always ready for anything, always reverent of nature, always stuck to his code.  So I feel it is appropriate to say farewell in scouting terms.  In scouting, there is a certain saying.  It says “take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints”. And I think that that's a pretty good metaphor for life.  When it finally is your time, the only thing you can take with you are the memories, you, who you are and what you did.  And the things you leave behind, the things that really matter, are not things. They are actions, what you did while you were here, the impact that you made, the things and lives that you made better. Those are your footprints.  And looking around at all his friends and family, you can see that Nick Rini made an impact that is beyond worldly measure.

Every great campfire, no matter how warm or how bright, will inevitably go out. But some flames will never really die, because they were not just flames, they were lighters. For they lit and brought into existence scores of other flames that would not have had a chance without them. These are the flames that, though they themselves have been extinguished, shall never go out. They shall never cease to burn within those they have set aflame. These are the flames that evoke the fires within, and so exist eternally.

I thought of you with love today but that is nothing new
I thought about you yesterday and days before that too,
I think of you in silence I often speak your name
All I have are memories and your picture in a frame
Your memory is my keepsake with which I'll never part
God has you in His keeping I have you in my heart!
-author unknown

I Love You Dad!!

Love to all the Rini Families -- Great Uncle Nick is already missed very much and I will always treasure my memories from my visits...

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.  ~Kahlil Gibran

You've got to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you've got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from mistakes, but never regret.

OBITUARY

Nicholas J Rini

1 April, 1921 – 21 January, 2013

Pierce Brothers Turner & Stevens Mortuary

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