"…As you drive home along Grant Ave. on The Hill, you see the young newlyweds who just moved into the apartment next door, painting the walls in their uncurtained living room and you feel a twinge of envy. They have a lifetime before them - a lifetime to fall in love with the wonderful town you've known so long, so long."
-- Herb Caen 1960

For 53 years Herb Caen wrote a daily column about the city he called "Baghdad by the Bay."

Back then Caen's Baghdad conjured up visions of magic carpets rather than cruise missiles. I think he meant to convey a sense of the magic that he found in San Francisco, and of his unflagging love for it.

"I loved this town before I was born, and I'm going to love it when I'm gone."
-- Herb Caen