Day by Day with Camille

 My cousin Eddie turns 60 years old today. This blog post is my way of sending birthday greetings.  I'll start with a few things that I remember about him when we were growing up. Most of the time that we spent together was at our grandparents' (Atlas and Veda Freeman) house on Burton Street in High Point, NC. Eddie is my first cousin. My mother, Loretta, was Eddie's mother's, Norine, younger sister.  I am around a year and a half older than Eddie. I am the youngest Freeman granddaughter, and he is the youngest grandson.  Eddie was a huge NASCAR fan growing up. As far as I am aware, he still is now. The driver I heard the most about from him was Bobby Allison. He had a collection of NSACAR Matchbox cars. He was also a Miami Dolphins fanatic. His favorite cookie was vanilla (Nilla) wafers. He loved a song called "Joy to the World". He loved WWII history, even taking German in high school because of his historical interest. At least that's what he told me.  ...

 To mark the occasion of my first cousin, Eddie Coggins) 40th wedding anniversary today to his wife, Maureen, I decided to post a few things that I remember regarding them. Eddie is my first cousin by way of his mother, Norine Freeman Coggins Stanly, who was my mother's (Loretta Freeman Green) older sister. Eddie and Maureen were married on January 22, 1986. I myself was finishing my senior year in college. To the best of my recollection, the first time I remember meeting Maureen was when she and Eddie had brought their infant son, Tony (Edward Anthony Coggins), over for our grandmother, Veda Davis Freeman, to hold him. Our grandmother was blind, since before Eddie or I were ever born, and so she ran her hands over Tony's tiny face carefully. It was her way of sensing what he looked like.  When Eddie and I were growing up, and were at our grandparents' house on Burton Street one summer afternoon (both of us were still in elementary school at the time), Eddie told me that wh...