A snowbird's choice of synagogues here

Dear Editor:

I read with interest the column by Richard Ries about visiting various temples (April 4 issue) and wish to comment from a snowbird’s viewpoint. My husband and I are in Florida for only 2-3 months and our regular temple is up north. We cannot afford two memberships but do make small donations when we attend a temple function. We have needed to find a temple while in Florida and found that three have been great: Bet Chaim, which works well for us and is our first choice, for start time (8 p.m.), distance, and friendliness of the congregants; Congregation Beth Am, which has a great atmosphere, friendly congregants, and a wonderful rabbi but is over an hour away and now has a start time of 7:30 p.m., which causes us dinner time problems, and Congregation Ohev Shalom which we have attended for a few functions and even though we prefer Reform to Conservative, we have always found the congregation to be welcoming and friendly.

My one surprise was Temple Israel. I attended a function there, and except for one woman who noticed my dog T-shirt and spoke with me about dogs, no one spoke to me during the social time after the event.

Bobbie (and Nick) Chase

Winter Park and

Worcester, Mass.