I have a similarly mixed opinion about the City. I used to love to go to the Roxie Theater in the Mission, where they showed movies you might never encounter o

I have a similarly mixed opinion about the City. I used to love to go to the Roxie Theater in the Mission, where they showed movies you might never encounter otherwise. During a retrospective for some anniversary of a Friedkin film, the great director himself just came walking up the sidewalk right through his speechless fans. On the other hand, I have been stuck in traffic on Mission near 17th while the SFPD put down rows of little yellow numbered plastic cones across three lanes of traffic -- one for each shell casing. Is there any public transit facility less welcoming than the urine-drenched BART station slash homeless zoo at 16th? Yes, actually. Just pop down to 24th, if you dare. Heroin dealers used to turn little alleys off of 26th into open-air markets in the wee hours. Maybe they still do. I just can't bring myself to visit the Mission anymore.