Fortunado Sorentino Previous Next Roll Call click on picture for full-size view
(Editor's note. The following was received from
Dave Benedict on 9/13/07)
2007 update. Pam and I just returned from Italy where we spent
some time with Fortunato. Unfortunately, he can't come because his wife's
mother is sick and needs round the clock care. He did ask that I tell
everyone that he really wishes that he could have been with us and sends a
big hello from Italy. I always love to here him tell the story about his
soccer experience at HGHS so I asked him to write it down and I have
enclosed his short story.
Of my year in Chappaqua, 1956-57, I keep innumerable,
very dear and very vivid memories. But Dave would like me to tell about
something that happened then, related to sports. No wonder.
Actually, I was rather different: short, dark and curly haired and not
particularly keen on sports, different from most of the students and just
learning about the school spirit. But, my attention was caught by so many
other wonderful things of that brand new world I had come to: the people of
my foster family, the language, the nature around, the smile of the girls,
the dressing codes, and the way of life.
Anyway, I had to have gym, to run the track, and to do pushups. In 1956 in
the US it was happening that the news of a very popular European sport had
begun to spread, a sport called “futbol” over there, and in America,
“soccer”.
One day Coach points a finger at me and says: “Fortunato, you teach us
soccer”.
Oh my goodness, I thought. I had never played futbol at home, how would I
handle my show?
The next day, all the guys were on the field and by some miracle a round
ball appeared (I’d thought that I might have escaped because of the oval
football). I pushed my memory as far as I could, trying to remember what I
used to see on TV and read in the Sunday papers (the day of the ball games)
about “futbol”.
I made a short explanation, something like: “ You have to take the ball and
kick it into the goal” and began a little dance, moving the ball backward
and forward with my feet, making it jump and fall, making it swing and go
round, in Italy it was called “dribbling”. Then I said: “Now you come and
try to take the ball away from me”, and I kept doing the little dance. Then,
with the corner of my eye, I saw a tall guy in the distance, smiling and
with a very determined look, moving towards me, then beginning to run faster
and faster, charging sideways like a bull, his left shoulder forward.
…tadan, tadan, tadan, tadan …here he comes….what should I do? I stopped
dancing and turned my right shoulder to him. The next thing I remember was
me, looking up to the sun in the sky, a blue hole surrounded by a circle of
puzzled faces, staring at me. I had fainted and was lying on the grass with
my right collarbone broken.
It was nothing too bad, it was just a green fracture, my arm was taped to my
chest for a month, the news spread. I was conspicuous and as I was making my
way through the crowded halls of Horace Greeley, boys and girls moved and
made room for me, as for an Indian sacred cow.
However, there were some classmates who didn’t know and who, coming at me
from the back, would go: “Hey there, Fortunato, how you doing?” slapping me
warmly on the shoulder.
There, yes, I nearly fainted again!
Fortunato, 12.09.2007
(Editors question.
Does anyone remember who tackled Fortunata?)
(The editors were able to find this biographical information on the web.)
Nota biografica:
Fortunato Sorrentino, torinese, laureato Ingegnere elettronico al Politecnico di
Torino, è un libero professionista nel settore ICT, consulente per le
problematiche della formazione basata sulle nuove tecnologie e delle professioni
ICT emergenti. Nell'area di queste tematiche collabora da tempo con l’Assinform,
associazione delle aziente ICT italiane. Viene da un lunga carriera prima di
ricerca, poi nelle multinazionali dell’informatica in Italia e all'estero. In
Bull Italia, presso la quale è stato fino al 2002, era Business Consultant nelle
settore dell’e-business. Ha pubblicato sovente su riviste e giornali nel settore
ICT ed è stato coautore in alcuni libri di Management. Nel 2004, presso
l’Università di Firenze, ha ricevuto il Master di "Progettista e Formatore in
Rete". I suoi attuali interessi riguardano, oltre all'e-learning, l'Ambient
Intelligence e le Comunità di Pratiche.
(Editor's Note - we couldn't fully understand the text so we passed it through Altavista's Babel Fish translator
and obtained the following. Good luck!)
Sorrentino lucky person, Turinese, graduated electronic Engineer to the
Polytechnic of Turin, is freelance in the field ICT, adviser for the problematic
ones of the formation based on the new technologies and of emergent professions
ICT. In the area of these thematic ones he collaborates for a long time with the
Assinform, association of Italian aziente ICT
It comes from a long career before search, then in the multinationals of
computer science in Italy and to the foreign country. In Bull Italy, near which
it has been until 2002, it was Business Consultant in the field of the
e-business. It has published sovente on reviews and newspapers in field ICT and
has been coautore in some books of Management.
In 2004, near the University of Florence, it has received the Master of "Planner
and Maker in Net". Its put into effect them interests regard, beyond to the
e-learning, the Ambient Intelligence and the Communities of Practical
1997 recap - Fortunado is married to Maria Gabriella and has two children Maria Sara and Antonella. He is a telecommunications consultant for Company Bull Italia. He is still close to his foster brother David Benedict.