Ro Reddick

Ro Reddick

Laurie "Ro" Reddick (born September 18, 1956) is the youngest of five children born to Sage “Jack: Alphonse Normand and Genevieve “Gene” Adams Normand. Called “the caboose” by her dad, she has three brothers and one sister: David Arthur, Glenn Anthony, Jeanine Ann, and Robert Andrew. She was told her name came from “Annie Laurie,” a traditional Irish song written in the late 1800’s. She was born in Fairhope, Alabama at the (now nonexistent) Jordan Clinic. Her birth was not uneventful, as her mother, who was ill with kidney disease, was told that her baby would probably be stillborn, as they could not hear a heartbeat. Emerging in a flood of black fluid (meconium stained), Laurie surprised the doctors by being alive, but tiny, weighing in at under 5 pounds. (Her mother was a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and at this time the hazards of smoking were not fully known.)

Nickname

Ro is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to Jon Reddick while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the USS Khai Tam.

Why Ro?

Ro is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted personas, Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

Childhood

Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just come to our house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love an patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, the other two horses were never as talented as Rex.

Education

She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Nickname

Ro is Laurie's nickname, and she uses it almost to the exclusion of her birth name. She acquired it before her marriage to Jon Reddick while they were the Command Team (President/Vice President) of the USS Khai Tam.

Why Ro?

Ro is a character from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994). Played by Michelle Forbes, she introduced in the fifth season episode "Ensign Ro," but was brought back for several other episodes. The character, Ro Laren (and Ro is actually the family name here) is from a race in of people in the Star Trek Universe known as the Bajorans, a displaced and nomadic people. Laurie felt the characteristics of the character of Ro Laren were similar to hers, and as many people in the Star Trek Fan Association adopted personas, Laurie adopted the Bajoran persona, and the family name of Ro as her own. Club members agreed with the persona and began calling her Ro. The name has stuck ever since, and Laurie prefers it to her (family) given name as it is easier for others to pronounce and remember, since it is short, unusual, and alliterates nicely with Reddick.

Childhood

Her entire childhood was spent in the small southern town of Fairhope, Alabama, on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Growing up on the water, nearly every day was spent playing on the beach, swimming, fishing or crabbing. Her father, “Jack,” was a musician, and discovered that all five of his children had musical talent. Laurie’s talent was that she had perfect pitch, and a very good ear for picking out songs, such that at around age four, her father would ask her to help him learn songs from the radio for which he had no sheet music. If he played a wrong chord, she could show him what notes needed to be in the chord, even though she didn’t know the names of the notes or chords. She began playing in public with her father at age five when her father’s trio played the opening of the Delchamps shopping center in Fairhope. She played trumpet on the song “Tea for Two,” not having any idea of the relation of the valves to notes, but rather “lipping” the entire song.

The Normand house was always an open house. People were always stopping by unannounced. Gene Normand was a great listener, and kids and adults were always stopping by to talk and pour their hearts out. They knew no strangers.

The Normands were always playing music at their house. Sometimes people would hear music while walking along the beach and would just walk up to their house to listen from the porch.

While growing up, there were always large family gatherings. Nearly all of Laurie's relatives lived in the New Orleans area – then about 5 hours away – and Thanksgiving and/or Christmas always meant a full house or lots of visiting. There was always someone to play with, always someone to stay with. She grew up believing that family and traditions were important.

From the age of six, Laurie began wanting a horse. She got her first horse (a pony named Rex) at age 12 from her sister-in-law's grandfather. With love and patience, she trained him to be a top-notch competitor, and entered horse shows for six years with him. He placed in everything he entered, winning more firsts and seconds than thirds, fourths, and fifths combined. After Rex, she had two more horses: an appaloosa she named J.D.R. Spooks, and a quarter horse/Arabian mix named Romulus (Rom, for short). Although J.D. won a few places, neither of the other two horses were never as talented a competitor as Rex.

After graduating high school at age 17, she worked a half year before leaving for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Education

She attended Fairhope Elementary, which, when she began, contained all 12 grades. She attended Fairhope Elementary for grades 1-6, but finished grades 7-12 at the new Fairhope High School where she had a singularly unimpressive academic career. Suggestion was made by her high school counselor and her family that she not try to attend a university, but rather attend a community college in hopes of passing, while continuing to further her expertise in music with her family band.

Nevertheless, she eventually attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where both her sister and her brother Robert had attended. As expected, she made C’s and D’s. After quitting college for six years, she returned to college once again to get her B.A. in English from the University of South Alabama, making the Dean’s List or President’s List every quarter, and graduating 0.05 points away from cum laude.

Occupations

• Professional musician
• Secretary for various universities and colleges
• Salesperson
• Insurance secretary
• Server/waitress at fast food restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a steakhouse, and a college dormitory
• Factory Day Worker
• Gymnastics Coach and judge
• Co-director of a gymnastics summer camp
• Music director at a summer camp
• Acrobatics instructor
• ESL instructor in Brazil
• Medical Transcriptionist in 12 specialties

Residences

When Laurie was born, she lived at 58 Fels Avenue in Fairhope, Alabama. Her father paid around $8,000 for the house (which her eldest brother inherited and later sold in 199? for over $150,000). In those days, people left their houses unlocked, and keys in their cars. Since then she has lived several cities:

• Nashville, TN
• Murfreesboro, TN
• Orlando, FL (while in the Navy)
• Mobile, AL
• Ft. Walton Beach, FL
• Pensacola, FL
• Tallahassee, FL
• Jacksonville, FL

Achievements

• Plays five instruments: piano, bass, drums, clarinet, guitar
• Played music for two presidents, one vice president, and 50 governors
• Had her first (and only) child at age 41
• Started gymnastics at age 20 and won 1st in Class III uneven parallel bars in the Alabama State Gymnastic Championships at age 22
• Fluent in Brazilian Portuguese