What is that noise???

by Buzz Nofal | Apr 30, 2010 | Just Stuff

Not long after we were married, Kathy and I moved to Philadelphia and had a fabulous year and a half there. I got hired as the Youth Pastor of a great church (another blog entry coming on that) and Kat worked temp jobs and then got hired at a doctor’s office.

Even though we had a blast in Philly, one of the disappointments was that we were away from Miami when our niece Kim was born. We were in contact with Herb & Joan (her parents) so we got all the blow by blow info but we regretted not being there for the birth. (more…)

Hello, I love You! Won’t You Tell Me Your Name??

by Buzz Nofal | Apr 17, 2010 | Just Stuff

Do you believe in Love At First Sight?

I’m not sure if you can actually fall in love at the first sight of a person but I sure came close.  When I was 14 I had just become a Christian and I was anxious for all my friends to hear about Christ as well. I had a good buddy named Frank DePadova.  We hung out a lot at his house since we never knew if my Aunt would be drunk and lock the door at mine.

The guy who first told me about Christ, Wally Crowder, and I decided we wanted Franky to hear the Gospel and Wally suggested we take him to a guy who was really good at explaining it.
That guy was Herb Paynter. So, we picked up Franky and drove about 15 miles down to Cutler Ridge where Herb lived. Herb had no idea we were coming but that didn’t matter to him.

We rang the bell and Herb opened the door. Wally said “This is Frank.  Can you tell him about going to heaven?” We physically pushed Franky into the house where Herb was very happy to talk to him.

Before we turned to walk back to Wally’s car, SHE WAS JUST 17, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? AND THE WAY SHE LOOKED WAS WAYBEYOND COMPARE… I SAW HER STANDING THERE! Hmmm?  Sounds like a great Beatles song. I was taken back by her.  I have an indelible image in my mind of what I saw.  She was putting a record on  the HiFi.

Beatles Fans Click To Hear It. Be sure to come back and finish reading.

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Chocolate Pudding For Lunch!

by Buzz Nofal | Apr 8, 2010 | Just Stuff

The memories I have of my GrandMa are very few but vivid.  She rarely spoke English. Mostly Arabic but, it seemed like she was always mumbling something.  I remember that, until she passed away, she and I shared a bedroom.  That never bothered me. In fact, I found in comforting to know my GrandMa was there.

I remember that she began to deteriorate into senility which, instead of scaring me, made me smile a lot. One night I woke up to find her trying to tie a coat hanger onto the shade cord of the window.  “What are you doin’ GrandMa??” I asked. (more…)

I Hate Dogs…. I mean I Love Dogs….

by Buzz Nofal | Apr 3, 2010 | Just Stuff

When I was an infant, maybe about 12 to 18 months old, I was bitten on the head by a doberman pincer. I was too young to actually remember this but it resulted in a rush to Mercy Hospital in Miami along with a lot of blood and several stitches.

Here’s how I saw dobermans after that. Actually, ALL dogs.

I’m sure that doberman was not really trying to hurt me since, if he was, I would be dead.  As it was, he put my whole head in his mouth and clamped me.  Maybe he thought my head was a strange pink ball, I don’t know.  There may be some scars but all the bites were in the scalp and I’ve never shaved my head to see if they show.

This was the beginning of my terrible fear of dogs.  It didn’t matter what kind of dog or the size.  They ALL scared me and I would do anything to avoid contact with one of those evil creatures. This fear stayed with me until the year Kathy and I were married. (more…)