They Make Me Smile – Abbie

by Buzz Nofal | Sep 13, 2010 | Just Stuff

Do you have someone in your life that the mere sight of them coming toward you or just seeing a picture of them makes you smile?   I have come to realize that if we have only a few like that, we are truly blessed.

Now, if your reaction was something like “Oh sure, I know lots of people like that,” then you do not understand what I mean.  I really hope that some day you do.

One of these special people in my life is Abbie.  I want to tell you about her.

Now, I’ve known Abbie’s mom for a long time and Abbie since she was about 4 but I clearly remember the day she became special to me…. she was about 9 at the time.

I was standing in the back of our church after the morning service and turned around to see Abbie running toward me at full speed. When she was about four feet away she left the ground and yelled “Mr. Buzz!”. Abbs landed in my arms and…. (more…)

Herb Paynter

by Buzz Nofal | Jul 16, 2010 | Just Stuff

Herb Paynter was one of the most faithful and honorable men I have ever known.

And one of the most important things he ever did was to be my precious wife Kathy’s Dad.  You can read a previous blog entry about how I first met Herb HERE.

Herb immediately impressed me as a man who cared about others more than himself.  I had never had that trait in my life.  Everything had always been about me and what I wanted.  I saw in Herb something radically different and it had a profound influence on me.

I really liked Herb from the beginning because he was a true entrepreneur. He thought of things and then tried to make them a reality.  Didn’t matter if the idea was virtually impossible.  Herb would give it his best shot.
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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…)