Good afternoon everyone.  

I am going to try not to look at any of you so that I can get through this.

My Name is Nathan Carman.  I am the oldest of these guys.  I thought I would try to lighten the mood a little by sharing 6 facts about William Carman.  Most of these are meant to be funny so you can laugh if you want to.

I am not claiming them to be perfect, because some are coming from the memory of a kid.

Fact #1

The only rock and roll song my dad liked was “Jump” by Van Halen.  At first I don’t think he knew it was a rock song, because it was the Chicago Cubs theme song in the 1980’s

Fact #2

Dad was an avid Chicago Cubs fan when.  But as a kid I can only remember going to Chicago Sox games.  I think it was because he got free tickets from a driver at Citgo.

Fact #3

I’ve never seen my dad in shorts, unless you count boxer shorts.

Fact #4

Dad was great at the Dad Jokes.  But he rarely told a regular joke that I understood the first time around.

Fact #5

Dad was a kind man.  Apart from traveling in rush hour, I never heard him say a mean word about another person.  Even on the Highway he only really said, Dadgummit, DUDE!”

Fact #6

And this is the introverts dilemma than many of us introverts face.  He would love that everyone is here together today, but would hate that the whole party is about him.  

Bonus fact

This is not a perfectly thought out one, I just wrote it this morning, and dreamed about it last night, but here goes.

Dad had some hopes and dreams.  He had hopes of retirement. He had dreams of a little travel.  He even talked about a cruise. But his main hope was that all those that he cared about (and he cared about everyone of you) would do one of three things.  Those 3 things were that you would come to Christ, get closer to Christ, or come back to Christ.  

My dad’s woodworking projects over the years were usually not made so that you could say look at his beautiful piece of art.  Most were made, like that frame in the back, that had held one of my moms paintings before this, to allow you to see the beauty inside that frame.  It was an accessory that helped point you to the good stuff. My dad had hopes of being a frame through which you saw Jesus and all that comes with that sight.  In my opinion, he did pretty good at being that frame.