Inspired by The House on MangoStreet
   Ben - boring, drooling, average, like a cabbage. Over theyears I have turned into Ben on the outside but I am much different - like afterpeeling off a kiwi's fuzzy skin to the sweet flesh - inside. If you look past thename, the treasure can be found inside, like cutting open a gemstone. In public Iam Ben.

People want to see only themselves, only a mirror image oftheir dull selves.

You can't tell the difference between frogs in a bog,but they are different. When I am alone or with my friends, I find my buriedtreasure. My imagination runs wild in the valleys of my mind. I can change myname. I am a different person. I can lie about who I really am. Of all the namesI could have had, why did I get such a bad one? When I am in public the frogs ofthe bog say, "Hi, what's your name?"

"Ben," I say.

"Yeah, you look like a Ben."

But they have no idea whatthey're talking about.