TEA at the Polk Theater

The Polk Theater is a treasure built in 1928 with a sparkling panorama of stars on the ceiling and organ concerts before every screening.
The big surprise in the audience at my screening was the high percentage of Arab Americans. They said if they had known of the event earlier the cavernous space would have been filled to the tiers with members of their community. My sister attended and she was struck by the sense of gratitude emminating from this audience. I think she begins to understand how difficult it must be to be a live as part of such a misunderstood ethnic heritage.
We stayed in the Terrace Hotel, built in 1924 on the beautiful Lake Mirror. The appointments, rooms, staff and restaurant were all excellent.
The city is chock full of exotic water birds. One traffic light had a swan nesting next to it. I spotted a member of a fussy variety of the cormorant that dries its wings after swimming. At first I thought it was some bizarre decoy of a bird about to take flight. It is an Anhinga or snake bird.