On the accessibility of Paris

The Paralympic Games won't be a silver bullet but it can help.

A year ago at this time, I was a month into debilitating pain from my lower back seizing up (again). The weeks of late summer that should have been devoted to reading, writing, and gardening were largely spent horizontal in bed, trying to keep my panicking tendencies at bay. I cancelled a work trip to Barcelona, not only because of the pain but because …