With the election hanging in the balance, a day-by-day and sometimes hour-by-hour political drama unfolded following the November 7 voting date. Palm Beach County and the previously little-used noun "chad" became synonymous. CNN and all TV networks gave 24-hour focus to the predominantly Democratic Gold Coast County.

Florida is the legal address of 5,100 of our members. When combined with living spouses, that number equates to approximately 8,000 votes. Palm Beach County is home to 826 members, with West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach being the population centers.

Shortly after the November 7 vote, we sent a letter to Palm Beach County members asking for their views on what transpired in their now-famous county. What followed was an avalanche of letters and phone calls.

The following is a limited cross-section of the replies we received. Boca Raton is overly represented only because of the unusual volume of replies forthcoming from that community.

Fred Coombs, 61, retired from the State DPW in 1996. He lives in West Palm Beach with his wife Betty: "The butterfly ballot wasn't confusing to me or my wife. Frankly, for so many people to say they voted for Buchanan when they meant to vote for Gore makes the rest of the country think that we're all old people who are easily confused. There's enough jokes on Leno (Jay) and other shows about the elderly. Now we're the laughing stock of the country."

Frank Goldman, 76, is a retired Boston police officer who moved to Delray Beach after retiring: "It was a real mess down here. The way our butterfly ballot was printed, if you punched number 2 you were voting for Buchanan when it looked like you were voting for Gore. I intended to vote for Gore, but I'm really not sure that's how it turned out. For a person voting for Bush, it was very clear. I was in favor of a hand recount."

Joseph Orze, 67, is the former president of Worcester State College. He and his wife Carol live in Boynton Beach: "This has been a messed up situation. I've never seen such political reaction and vehemence. I hope when it all ends that there will be an appearance of honesty to the outcome. I didn't find the ballot to be complicated. Poll workers were going out of their way to assist voters who might have been confused. I'm afraid that the rest of the nation will look upon us as a bunch of doddering fools, which is not true."

Neville Stone, 70, is a City of Boston veterans services retiree. He now lives in Boynton Beach: "I was in favor of a revote but only in Palm Beach County - I may have voted for Buchanan without realizing it. I vote a straight Democratic ticket but the butterfly ballot was very confusing - I filed an affidavit the day after the election. I felt all along that Gore would win in a recount. Jeb's (Bush) people set this election up."

Harriet Feldman, 74, is a retired Boston teacher who lives in Delray Beach: "I don't listen to the news anymore. It's been the most despicable time in our history. I resent the fact that the invalid ballots were blamed on the elderly. There were just as many mistakes on ballots cast by young people. One young college professor with an IQ of 165 voted incorrectly. The Secretary of State should not have tried to stop the hand count."

Ada Wronski, 75, is a Mass Dept. of Welfare retiree who lives in West Palm Beach with her husband Ken: "There wasn't much to chose from in this election. I was going to vote for Nader but thought it would be a waste so I voted for Bush. West Palm Beach has been a circus since the election. There was an invasion of Democratic party people from Massachusetts working on the recount. I feel like we've been used and made to feel important by politicians and people like Jesse Jackson: I'm glad they're gone."

Ida Polonsky, 72, is a retired state employee who worked at the Industrial Accident Board. She and her husband Ralph live in Boca Raton: "Bush is a two-faced liar who would steal your eyes out of your head. My daughter was told by a poll worker to be careful because her Gore vote might actually be a Buchanan vote. I dislike liars, thieves and cheats, especially when it comes to elections. There should have been an entire re-vote in the state of Florida, not just one or two areas. We don't need an electoral college."

Miriam Slotnick, 75, formerly worked for the Town of Wellesley. She has been living in Boca Raton for the past 4 years: "I worked at the polls and could see that many people were confused. They're blaming the seniors for the problems but many of those who had problems were younger. The absentee ballot was set up with the punch holes on the right. There has been great anger with the whole situation and many people think it was just the Jewish community, but many ethnic groups were involved."

Ray Moore, 73, grew up in Rockport. After retiring as a teacher in Rockport and Gloucester, he and his wife Shirley moved to Boca Raton: "The sample butterfly ballot which everyone received did not show where the holes were. Century Village, the huge retirement complex here in Boca Raton, held a meeting after the election. Out of several hundred people attending, not one voted for Buchanan. Now what does that tell you about all those Buchanan votes?"

Eugenia Murphy, 72, moved to Boca Raton after retiring from the City of Peabody in 1985: "People should have paid attention to what they were doing. Many people who were having trouble have no trouble when they play bingo. Gore is attached to Clinton's coat strings... He would sell his soul to get a vote. The ballot was approved by the Democrats and had been used in previous elections. We should eliminate the electoral college and let the majority decide who wins future elections."

Elizabeth Dubuque, 74, is a survivor whose deceased husband, Arnold, worked for the state with the Dept. of Public Health. She lives in Delray Beach: "This has been a pretty bad mess down here. They sent out a booklet to explain the ballot but it was still confusing... in fact it was a travesty. I have a friend who knows she voted wrong. There should have been a re-vote. There were too many questions surrounding the ballot... it was a Republican vendetta."

Joe Devine, 68, is a retired Scituate police officer who lives in Boca Raton: "I voted for Gore but the scene here was insane. We had Jesse Jackson running all over the county stirring things up. That's exactly what we didn't need. It's been a euphoric time for the elderly who migrated from political hotbeds of the north, such as Boston, New York and Chicago. These people know elections can be stolen."

Joan Doherty, 68, and her husband Phil live in Boca Raton. Joan is a retired Somerville teacher: "No, I didn't find the ballot to be confusing because they sent out a sample ballot. However, the sample ballot didn't show the holes and I can understand people being confused. There was a lot of room for error in Palm Beach County and the mistakes were horrendous. It's giving Palm Beach County a bad name. Instead of sending bags of oranges to our friends, we're sending bags of 'chads'."

Pasquale "Pat" Petruccelli, 85, lives in Boca Raton with his wife Margaret. He is a Dept. of Revenue retiree: "I wasn't confused by the ballot and you might say I'm pretty old. They wanted to keep counting until they could find a way for Gore to win. It was a lot like the Kennedy-Nixon thing in Chicago. The electoral college has been here for 200 years and nobody ever complained before. Now everyone is an expert."

Robert DiGloria, 52, retired from the Burlington Police Department and now lives in West Palm Beach: "The Democrats were determined to win the election through recounts. There was a lot of personal subjectivity on the part of the hand counters. There was no problem with the ballot. There are always a certain amount of problems everywhere, but the focus was on Palm Beach County. It was hard to watch what the county went through. The secretary of state was right, she simply followed the law."

Marty Sedar, 56, and his wife Emma live in Boca Raton. He is a Dept. of Ed. retiree: "The process to make the American people satisfied with the outcome will be lengthy and will take years to heal the wounds. Books will be written about what occurred in Palm Beach County. The hand count was cumbersome. There were people from both parties looking over the shoulders of the weary workers doing the hand count. I'm afraid this election will end up in the courts."

Dorothy "Dot" Mulloy, 69, is a survivor whose deceased husband, Jim, was an Everett teacher. She lives in Boca Raton: "I didn't find the ballot confusing. Not one of a class of second-graders got the ballot wrong when presented with a similar ballot. There's been a dumbing down in this country. The Secretary of State's deadline should not have been overturned. I'm a Republican with 8 children: four are Democrats; three are Republicans, and one couldn't care less."