Rite of Fancy

 Dear Henry, Have you ever heard of the painter Frida Kahlo? Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter who lived most of her life outside Mexico City; she was known for her self-portraits and the content's unreality. Her art was so striking because she painted her pain. In 1925 she was nearly killed after an accident between a bus and a trolley. The impact broke several vertebrae, her collar bone, some ribs, and her pelvis, which shattered her right leg and right foot. She also dislocated her right shoulder and was pierced through her abdomen by one of the bus's handrails. She would endure painful medical treatment for the remainder of her life, having as many as 35 surgeries, and ultimately would require the amputation of her right leg below the knee. Of course, I didn't know any of that in the beginning. The first time I heard of Frida Kahlo was when I came across a photograph of the painting La Columna Rota (The Broken Column), and it spoke to me. This was shortly...