My cousin Eddie's 60th Birthday (February 5, 1966)

 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. 

When Eddie joined the Boy Scouts, my grandfather (Joseph Green) helped him build a wooden go-cart to drive in a race at High Point City Lake. 

U-2 and Lynard Skynyrd were two groups that he talked about listening to, and he loved The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 

Eddie met his wife when they were both college students at Wingate University.

My cousin has had a number of health issues in his life, including colon cancer, diabetes, iritis, and kidney failure, which resulting in him having a kidney transplant a couple of years ago. He seems to be doing well, now, though, from the information that I have gotten through my mother. He also has a wife, Maureen, who has had Parkinson's Disease since the 1980s, and so their household certainly has had some challenges to deal with over time. 

So to my cousin, Eddie, I would say: Happy Birthday, Cousin! Don't count the days, make the days count!