THE SECRET OF BENJO

All that I am, I am always Benjo. I guess it all started with my mother giving me the name of Benjamin. You see, when I was born, I was given the name of Jacob. Then, a few days later, my mother changed it to Benjamin. A short while later, my parents made my sister who, once able to speak, began giving me the nickname of "Benjo". Makes sense enough, from Benjamin we get the shortened Benjo. A nickname so well embraced by family and friends, that not a day goes by without my being called Benjo. Fast forward many, many years, and I make a new friend in college, Art Matsura. A nice Japanese fellow who, upon first hearing me being called Benjo, nearly fell to the floor laughing. Why? As it turns out, Benjo is actually a word in Japanese. And not really a full word either. More of a slang term. What does it mean? Well, let's put it this way. There's a nice way of referring to the restroom, and that's 'toilet'. And there's a crude way of referring to it, and that's 'crapper'. That's what Benjo means - crapper. Once this little bit of new information about my persona made itself known in college, Benjamin, Ben, even Benjo went right out the window, and I was then referred to as Toilet, or sometimes, however rarely, as Crapper. But then it got better. There's a super-hero costume party I attend every year, and each year I get closer to perfecting the superhero costume of Benjo, International Super Plumbing Expert. I get close to making the outfit, but it's never realized. Yet still, I'm called Benjo, and still, people know what it means. I am Benjo, hear me flush.