Dan Rodricks: One man’s commitment to Baltimore, Our City of Perpetual Recovery

As Christopher Schafer, tailor to men rich and poor, described two terrible events of the last year — the thief who pointed a gun at him, the fire that damaged his new shop in Fells Point — it suddenly made sense that a man who had successfully pulled away from addictions to drugs and alcohol would become attached to Baltimore. A man in recovery — for Schafer, 18 years now — understands that it’s a long, hard road that never ends. Recovery means remembering who you were, what you went through, never losing hope for a better life, never letting go once you get there. It tends to foster empathy, too.