OPINION: Greetings from chilly Florida

Carol Cott Goss lives in East Northport and Lake Worth, Fla.

I used to wonder if Long Islanders who winter in Florida are called snowbirds because they're obsessed with the blizzards back home. Happiness down South is in reverse proportion to the temperatures on the Island. Or so it seemed, when I was still a Frozen Chosen Long Islander.

Was everybody I knew in Florida glued to weather reports before they called me in East Northport? While I was digging out my driveway, I'd get texts from the pool in Fort Lauderdale or the beach in Boca. snowbirds would cluck, "You poor thing! How do you take it?"

With barely concealed glee they asked, "How many inches didja get on Jericho Turnpike?" "Did they close the LIE?" "How long was the line up at Dairy Barn?" Answers I suspected they already knew, because in Florida, the blizzards up North are closely reported - front-page, feel-good news.

Last month, I became a fledgling snowbird myself. I arrived in Lake Worth the day before Long Island's December blizzard hit. Of course, I was concerned for folks back home, but I vowed I wouldn't crow that I was in flip-flops while they were in boots. When I called a friend in Woodbury, she explained, "I can't use my Broadway tickets because the Northern State is so icy." I commiserated, "The ocean is chilly today, so I couldn't go in past my ankles." I was surprised when her response was, "Gotta go!"

But that was weeks ago. These days, I'm riding out the temporary Florida cold snap by bundling up, turning on the heat, and assuring myself it can't last. But you won't hear me complaining to friends from home who phone daily to reverse gloat.

"I heard they're wearing fur coats in Palm Beach," one friend chuckled. Just for accuracy I said that while I spotted a fur jacket or two, and maybe a poncho, I never saw a fur coat.

Then a Manhattan friend asked, "Carol, why don't you come home to thaw out?" - just because for an hour, the temperature in Central Park rose one degree higher than the Florida low.

I was saved from retaliating, "We'll be wearing sunblock soon and you'll be shivering!" when my call-waiting beeped. I said hello to an experienced snowbird and former Bayside resident. He sounded happier than he had since the snap: "Did you hear about the blizzard in upstate New York?" Not waiting for an answer he chirped, "My cousin lives in Syracuse. I haven't spoke to him in a while. I'm gonna give him a call."

I hung up smiling. I have a distant relative in Buffalo. It wasn't much warmer here in Florida, but I was feeling better already.