20 | JUNE 8 • 2023
T
his story is one for the
books!
In 1991, Paula
then-Gottlieb went out with a
bunch of friends and met Micki,
who said, “Oh, you’re attending
Michigan State? Do you know
my brother Jeff?”
Paula laughed. “There are
30,000 people who go there! No,
I don’t know him!”
Paula was a serious student
and dived into her studies. One
small problem: the library.
“The library was kind of like
a bar, lots of people talking and
hanging out,
” said Paula, who
would greet her friends and then
settle in the African section of
the library, where no one else
ever ventured, for some real
studying.
One fine day, after Paula said
hi to her friends, a guy started
complaining that the library was
too loud, and he couldn’t con-
centrate.
Deciding to be nice, Paula
offered to share her quiet space,
not really thinking he’
d take her
up on it.
“I was surprised when he
actually stood up and started to
walk over,
” remembered Paula,
who raised her eyebrows at her
friends as if to ask, “Is he safe?”
They shrugged.
But it was a moot point
because the guy really did just
want to study! He sat across
from Paula in his fraternity
baseball cap and neither said a
word. After a few hours, Paula
gathered her books and joked,
“It was nice talking to you,
” got
up and left.
Still, Paula “had a feeling.
” So
strong a feeling, in fact, that she
called her mom to share that
she’
d met the man who would
one day be her husband.
“Um, what?” her mom asked,
so Paula explained what hap-
pened, and her mom laughed.
“You don’t even know the guy’s
name! You don’t know a single
thing about him! There are
30,000 people at Michigan State,
how are you ever going to find
him?!”
“I don’t know, but I will,
”
Paula said blithely, and her
mother said nothing more. After
all, Paula was 19, she could cer-
tainly dream.
A few days later, Paula spoke
to her friend Gary on the phone
and said, “Hey, I met a guy in
your fraternity house.
”
“Nice!” Gary said. “Who?”
“No idea,
” Paula admitted.
“Well, what does he look
like?” Gary asked.
“Black hair, blue eyes and he
was wearing a black baseball
cap with your fraternity letters,
”
Paula said.
“I think that’s Chuck!” Gary
said.
Chuck? Hmm … Chuck was
Paula’s dad’s name; she didn’t
want to go out with someone
who shared her dad’s name …
but before she could warn Gary
not to get any ideas, he said,
“I’ve got call waiting, hang on a
minute –”
“No, wait!” Paula said and
quickly explained her concerns.
“His name’s not Chuck,
” Gary
said enigmatically and hung up.
The following week, Paula
attended a fraternity party where
she was officially introduced
to Chuck-who-wasn’t-really-
Chuck. (It was his fraternity
nickname. His real name’s
Jeffrey! Go figure.)
Unlike their first meeting, this
time they actually talked and
quickly discovered they’
d grown
up just a few miles apart. They
were even both members of
Temple Beth El. Jeff mentioned
he had a sister, Michelle, who
was the same age as Paula. “Do
you know her?”
“No,
” Paula said. It wasn’t
until later when she realized that
Jeff’s sister Michelle was her new
friend Micki!
Ironically, at that same party,
another fraternity brother asked
Paula out, but she declined. “Just
imagine! I ended up having a
real all-American love story and
that could have gone awry!”
Paula says now.
In 1994, Paula and Jeff mar-
ried — just like she’
d predicted
after that first library meeting.
For their 25th wedding anni-
versary, Jeff planned a surprise
wedding renewal on Maui, com-
plete with Hawaiian officiant,
flowers, guests and reception.
He even secretly flew in Paula’s
original bridal gown and she
was delighted to have another
opportunity to wear it.
Today they live in West
Bloomfield. Paula works as a
nurse in St. Joe’s in Pontiac, Jeff
works in finance and they attend
Temple Shir Shalom. They have
two kids: Brendan, 22, who
attends Michigan State, and
Mari, 21, who attends the Ohio
State University.
“
And, of course, I urge them
to go to the library every day!”
Paula laughed.
This column will appear biweekly. If
you’d like to share your ‘meet-cute’
story, please email burstynwithjoy@
hotmail.com.
OUR COMMUNITY
‘At the Library’
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
HOW WE MET
Paula and
Jeff Lynn
Paula and
Jeff Lynn
at their
wedding.