BY RACHEL LEVY

The year was 1984. The weather – crystal clear skies with palm and pine trees blowing. A young Gator studying law made his daily walk to Library West, but this time, he was greeted with a disheartening note on the door: “Library closed due to campus-wide power outage.” Not too far away, a young lady majoring in biology arrived at Marston Science Library prepared to study, but was met with the same unfortunate news.

These two Gators both decided to make the most out of the beautiful day and get some work done outside in the Plaza of the Americas. As they both sought the perfect study spot, a strong gust of wind struck, and the biology student lost her grip on the stack of notes she was holding. The young man ran to help her collect the pages as they scattered across the Plaza, and in true Florida fashion, heavy rain began in an instant. The two ran for cover, soaked pages in hand.

“Thank you for your help! That was very kind,” she cried.

“Hey, in all kinds of weather we’ve got to stick together, right?” he replied.

“Absolutely. What was your name?”

He outstretched a leathery green hand. “I’m Albert. And you are?”

“Alberta.”

And the rest is history.