Monthly Archives: April 2017

The Dance

Posted on April 30, 2017 by toritto

“Have you ever met someone so charming, so guileless, untouched by convention? So unlike the others you thought her perfection?” My buddy said “No, for it It’s you that she’s watching!” pointing her out, sheath dress in pale yellow laughing, suggesting that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

On the Application of Military Power in the National Interest

Posted on April 29, 2017 by toritto

“An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Army Sgt. Cameron Thomas, 23, of Kettering, Ohio, on April 28, 2017, at Dover Air Force Base. Thomas and Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, of Bloomington, Ill., were … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 2 Comments

Endings

Posted on April 28, 2017 by toritto

Of all the places I have been and all the paths that I have walked there are many I know I will never walk again. Such is the nature of things; the omnipotent film maker has made the cuts, certain … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 8 Comments

Forsaken

Posted on April 27, 2017 by toritto

Sit not in your darkened room alone and brooding feeling forsaken by the Fates the sounds of the living rising from the streets. Mourn not uselessly your luck that’s failing now; your plans, your hopes all gone awry. Instead prepare … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 4 Comments

The Succession

Posted on April 25, 2017 by toritto

It is the Spring of the year 1553 and Edward, the sixth of his name, King of England lay dying in his bed. He was but 15 years old. His father, Henry VIII, of blessed memory had desperately wanted a … Continue reading →

Posted in history, short story | 2 Comments

FGM and the Demise of Foot Binding – A Re-Post

Posted on April 25, 2017 by toritto

the illusion Foot binding – “the custom of binding the feet of young girls painfully tight to prevent further growth. The practice likely originated in the Southern Tang Dynasty in Nanking but spread to upper class families and eventually became … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Female Genital Mutilation – A Re-Post

Posted on April 24, 2017 by toritto

 It has been reported here that An India-born doctor and his wife were arrested and charged with helping another Indian-origin doctor perform genital mutilations on minor girls, a procedure criminalized in the United States. Fakhruddin Attar, 53, and his wife … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Flying the Atlantic in a C-47

Posted on April 23, 2017 by toritto

So its 1965 and young soldier Toritto was in the Army, a part of the U. S. Army Security Agency stationed in Asmara, Eritrea on the Horn of Africa. My new bride was at home in Brooklyn, New York living … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Learning from the Gracchi – the “First Socialists”

Posted on April 22, 2017 by toritto

A lesson from history for today’s politics It is the year 135B. C  .in the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians had been finally defeated. The Roman Republic itself was already some 375 years old, (older than the United States today) dating … Continue reading →

Posted in history | 6 Comments

We’re Sorry

Posted on April 21, 2017 by toritto

We’re sorry. We bombed your apartment and your favorite hiding place and your street which, just like you will have to live it all over again tomorrow. We’re sorry. We missed our intended target. All those buildings look the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 3 Comments