[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 14 (Thursday, February 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S1115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF HERB CAEN

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Herb Caen, 
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Herb 
began his career in 1938. He left us this past Sunday, taking with him 
an irreplaceable part of the community he so dearly loved and that so 
dearly treasured him.
  Although he is gone, he leaves a rich, woven history of a time, 
place, and people. His was the common thread in the life and lives of 
this often deliberately uncommon metropolis. He grew up in Sacramento, 
but made San Francisco home not only for himself but for his legions of 
readers--whether they lived in town or not. He captured the city's 
vivid colors and rhythms.
  People read Herb Caen to find out what was going on. We looked for 
names we recognized, places we might visit, and places we might avoid. 
For nearly six decades, Herb was our connection to a place so dynamic, 
it seemed only he could divine its pulse and variety.
  Every morning, Herb Caen started your day. Herb conjured humanity 
from a youthful heart and old typewriter daily--and we thank him.
  My office in San Francisco overlooks Herb Caen Way--a beautiful 
promenade along the waterfront. From the widows, one can see the people 
of San Francisco moving from place to place, carrying on with the 
business of living, and carrying memories of Herb with them. Although 
we may be deprived of his words, how appropriate that even now Herb 
continues to lead us about his adopted town with which he conducted a 
public love affair for almost 60 years.
  In awarding the Pulitzer Prize to Herb Caen, the Pulitzer Committee 
referred to his ``continuing contribution as a voice and conscience of 
his city.'' His voice is no longer with us, but his joy in celebrating 
San Francisco and its inhabitants will live on in generations of San 
Franciscans who read him and were touched by his life.

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