The Temz Review
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Issues
  • Journal Subs
  • 845 Press
    • Catalogue

The Book of Benjamin

By Ben Robinson
A MESSAGE DELIVERED BY BENJAMIN ROBINSON AT OUR EMERYVILLE CAMPUS. BEN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE SPOKE WITH MR. KUWEH, WHO SAYS THE INDEFINITE DETENTION OF REFUGEES ON THE ISLAND HAS TARNISHED IT IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD. ARCHAEOLOGIST BEN ROBINSON, PICTURED, EXPLORES THE STORY OF THE VILLAGE FROM NORMAN TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. THE AGREEMENT, NEGOTIATED WITH QUEEN VICTORIA’S REPRESENTATIVE, WILLIAM BENJAMIN ROBINSON, PROMISED EACH FIRST NATIONS CITIZEN AROUND $2 A PERSON, WITH PROMISES TO INCREASE THE ANNUITY AS THE LAND WAS DEVELOPED AND RESOURCES WERE USED. GARY AND KATIE ARE CLOSE FRIENDS WITH BURTON ALBION OWNER, BEN ROBINSON, WHICH ALSO SPARKED THE BREWERS BET. BY CONTRAST, ASCARIDE RESISTS THE ATTENTIONS OF FISHERMAN BENJAMIN ROBINSON, WHO HAS BEEN IN LOVE WITH HER SINCE FIRST SEEING HER ON THE STAGE IN MARSEILLE. BENJAMIN ROBINSON, AS RALPH RACKSTRAW, ALSO ENJOYED A SUCCESSFUL DEBUT WITH EUGENE OPERA. WHERE ARE BELOW DECK STARS BEN ROBINSON, EDDIE LUCAS, KELLEY JOHNSON, AND AMY JOHNSON NOW? BEN ROBINSON IS NO LONGER WITH THE ORGANIZATION AND HAS STEPPED DOWN AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE OBSERVER. IT TOOK NINE MONTHS NOT ONLY TO FIND BEN ROBINSON BUT TO CONVINCE HIM THE OBSERVER REALLY WAS AN ENVIRONMENT RIPE FOR CHANGE. BURTON ALBION AND MANCHESTER CITY ARE "CHALK AND CHEESE," SAYS BURTON CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON. BEN ROBINSON HELPED PERFORM CPR ON SUE AFTER SHE HAD A HEART ATTACK IN THE CAFE. “AFTER THE OLDER CHAP STARTED TO TIRE OF DOING CHEST COMPRESSIONS, BEN ROBINSON (WHO WORKS AT THE CHERIES) STEPPED IN AND WAS SUPERB.” BEN ROBINSON TOLD SKY SPORTS NEWS, “IT IS VERY MUCH A CASE OF PINCHING OURSELVES AND THINKING IT IS ANOTHER GREAT OCCASION TO LOOK FORWARD TO.” THE FOLLOWING BOLIVAR STUDENTS WERE RECENTLY NAMED TO ROCKHURST UNIVERSITY’S FALL 2018 DEAN’S LIST: OLIVIA COONS, MARY HARRIS, BENJAMIN ROBINSON. SECOND NINE WEEKS EFFORT AWARDS - FOURTH GRADE: KYRA ARMSTRONG, MADELYNN BACH, SLOAN CLAUSSEN, BRAYDON CORONA PANTOJA, ASHLEY HERNANDEZ, HAILEY HUGHES, JACKSON JONES, RYLIE MOORE, BEN ROBINSON, AIDYNE SHANLEY, CAMERON TERRY. STACY SOUTHWELL AND BEN ROBINSON LOST THEIR DAUGHTER SOPHIE IN 2016 AFTER A BATTLE WITH A BRAIN TUMOUR AND NOW THREE YEARS ON THEY WANT TO HELP OTHER FAMILIES GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING. BENJAMIN ROBINSON DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED. IN THE EARLY 1800S, DR. BENJAMIN ROBINSON ACTUALLY BOARDED PATIENTS AT HIS OWN HOME (NOW THE BELDEN-HORNE HOUSE) FOR TREATMENT. LOHUD WRESTLING SCOREBOARD: DUAL MEET RESULTS FO 
1.
 
The first time I met another person with my name was the first day of junior kindergarten. This other Ben and I would go all the way through elementary, middle and high school together. We were Ben B and Ben R.
 
Two chairs necessarily have something in common, a shared essential chairness. Same for two apples or two dogs. It would not have been difficult to tell Ben B and me apart. My bright, primary-blue glasses; his size used to antagonize other kids.
 
Although I don’t remember the details, I have a memory that must be from grade five of me sitting on top of Ben B punching down repeatedly into his torso – mad enough to fight but too afraid to actually hit him in the face.
 
Later a third Ben would come to our school. He was a couple of years younger and had an identical twin. 


​R JAN. 15-17, 220: BEN ROBINSON (YK) PIN MARK CARACCIOLA (FL), 2:27. BEN ROBINSON III, MICHAEL BARNETT, PHIL MALICOTE AND JEFF REED WERE TAPPED BY FRALEY TO SERVE ON THE BEREA PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION. BEN ROBINSON KNEW HE HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL. BEN ROBINSON’S MUM, MARY, WHO STILL LIVES IN SUTTON HAS SAID THAT TONIGHT IS A PROUD MOMENT FOR HER AFTER SHE SPOTTED HER SON IN TODAY’S EDITION OF THE TELEGRAPH NEWSPAPER. JOINING KEN AND VADIM IN THE ENCHANTED FOREST ARE LEGENDARY DJ MR BENN “RU” ROBINSON, DJ HIPHOPPAPOTAMOUS, AAA BADBOY, AND WAGGLES. ARCHAEOLOGIST BEN ROBINSON EXPLORES THE FACTORS WHICH ALLOWED THE REMOTE COASTAL SETTLEMENT TO GROW: ITS ALMOST UNIQUE POSITION AS A SAFE HARBOUR, ITS HARDY VILLAGERS AND ITS STRATEGIC SPOT FOR EXPORTING DESIRABLE CORNISH GOODS. DR. EARL BENJAMIN-ROBINSON OF THE BACH GROUP IN NEW ORLEANS WILL CLOSE OUT THE CONFERENCE BY GIVING ATTENDEES ADVICE ON HOW THEY CAN APPLY ALL THE INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE THEY LEARNED THROUGHOUT THE DAY. “PERHAPS IF HE STAYS HERE LONG TERM AND WE GET THE BEST OUT OF HIM, BEN ROBINSON CAN GET THERE WITH HIM.” DR YOUNG TOLD BEN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE REQUESTS WERE OFTEN DELAYED OR DENIED BY THE BUREAUCRATS TO MAKE THE REFUGEES SUFFER AND THAT DEPRESSION AND HOPELESSNESS HAD LED TO SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE ATTEMPTS BECOMING A DAILY OCCURRENCE. BEN ROBINSON ADDED, “THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF THE MARKETPLACE IS TO FIND THE BEST COMPLEMENTARY SOLUTIONS AND TO PRE-INTEGRATE THEM WITH OUR SOFTWARE.” BEN ROBINSON HAS FOCUSED ON HIS BUSINESS ON LAND FOR SOME TIME, SO FANS WERE HYPED TO SEE HIM IN THE PHOTO. SRC BEDE’S CAMPUS PRINCIPAL BEN ROBINSON SAID: “THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG FEMALE PLAYERS IN THE TEES VALLEY AREA TO ENTER A PROGRAMME WITH RECOGNISED PATHWAYS TO THE PROFESSIONAL GAME WHILST CONTINUING THEIR EDUCATION IN A DUAL-CAREER ETHOS.” DIRECTOR OF SALES AT ROBINSONS BEN ROBINSON ADDS: “WE’RE CONTINUING TO DRIVE TROOPER AS THE BEER OF MUSIC, WITH A FOCUS ON CRAFT BEER BARS, PREMIUM OUTLETS, MUSIC VENUES, LIVE EVENTS AND MUSIC FESTIVALS.” RAPID CITY RODEO FINAL RESULTS - STEER WRESTLING: 1. ELI LORD (STURGIS, S.D.) 4.7 SECONDS, $3,259 2. TY ERICKSON (HELENA, MONT.) 4.8, $2,916 3. (TIE) MYLES NEIGHBORS (BENTON, ARK.) AND HANK FILIPPINI (BATTLE MOUNTAIN, NEV.), 5.2, $2,402 EACH 5. BENJAMIN ROBINSON (HASTINGS, NEB.), 5.6, $1,887. IN ADDITION TO SHARING A HONGI WITH ROSS, SHE ALSO WORKED WITH AND KISSED BEN ROBINSON IN SEASON 1 OF BELOW DECK MED, BUT CAPTAIN LEE ROSBACH HAS NOTHING BUT GOOD 
2.
 
Benjamin in the book of Genesis eventually goes on to become the namesake of the Benjaminites, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Perhaps the most prominent story about the Tribe of Benjamin is one in the Book of Judges that is commonly known as “The Levite’s Concubine” and has been called “the worst story in the Old Testament.”[1]
 
An unnamed concubine is travelling home with her Levite husband. They arrive in the town of Gibeah, home to the Benjaminites, just before dark and are invited to stay at a man’s house. After they have eaten, a mob of Benjaminite men surround the house and begin banging on the doors and calling out to the owner of the house, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house, so that we may know him.”[2] Instead of going out to address the mob himself, the Levite forces the woman to go out in his place and she is gang-raped by the Benjaminite men.
 
In the morning, the Levite opens the door to leave and finds the woman lying at the threshold. He tells her to get up but she does not respond. The Levite then places her on his donkey and continues home. When the Levite arrives home, he dismembers the woman’s body, cutting her into twelve pieces which he sends to each of the twelve tribes of Israel as a call to revenge against the Benjaminites. At some point in the story, the woman presumably dies but her death is not mentioned explicitly. 


[1] Alden Thompson, Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament God?
[2] Judges 19.22

THINGS TO SAY ABOUT HER. MARRIED ON JUNE 29, 2015, EARL AND MICHAEL BENJAMIN-ROBINSON WERE THE FIRST SAME SEX COUPLE TO LEGALLY MARRY IN THE STATE, STARTED THE FIRST BLACK GAY PRIDE CELEBRATION IN MISSISSIPPI IN 2004 AND OPENED ITS FIRST LGBT RESOURCE CENTER. THEIR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER, BENJAMIN ROBINSON, A PHOTOGRAPHER OF 15 YEARS, PLAYED A MAJOR PART IN GETTING THEM IN TO THE COMPETITION, PAUL SAID. BURTON ALBION CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON SAID: “WE HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED TO WORK WITH OUR FRIENDS AT PIRELLI AGAIN, NOT ONLY TO PROVIDE EXTRA PARKING ON SELECTED MATCH DAYS BUT TO ALSO TO RAISE FUNDS FOR A CHARITY THAT DOES INCREDIBLE WORK, FIGHTING ON BEHALF OF BRAIN TUMOUR SUFFERERS.” OUR SCHOOL COMMITTEE RECOGNIZES BENJAMIN ROBINSON FROM BURNCOAT HIGH SCHOOL FOR HIS BRAVERY SAVING 8 PEOPLE FROM A HOUSE FIRE. THE STRATEGY WORKED, AS FINN WAS ABLE TO EARN A 6-3 DECISION OVER YORKTOWN’S BEN ROBINSON TO BECOME THE HUSKIES’ FIRST SECTION I CHAMPION IN MORE THAN A DECADE. BENJAMIN ROBINSON IS KNOWN FOR HIS “CHARMING LYRIC TENOR,” “EMPHATIC CHARACTERIZATIONS,” “EASY VOCAL PRODUCTION AND ... LUSCIOUS INSTRUMENT.” BENJAMIN ROBINSON IS A LIAR, MANIPULATOR, AND CHEATER. HE WILL LURE YOU IN AND MAKE YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE. I PROMISE YOU YOU AREN’T. OVER THE COURSE OF 3 BLOGS, DIRECTOR OF AGENCY SERVICES, BEN ROBINSON, WILL CONSIDER WHAT ESTATE AGENTS SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO IDENTIFYING AND MANAGING RISK, AND WHAT PROCESSES THEY CAN PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE THEY COMPLY WITH THE AML REGULATIONS. BUOYED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S RECENT DEFEAT OVER A BILL TO EASE MEDICAL TRANSFERS FOR SICK REFUGEES, THOSE ON MANUS HAVE CALLED ON THE OPPOSITION TO SUPPORT NEW ZEALAND'S OFFER BEN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE REPORTS. BURTON ALBION CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON HAS PAID TRIBUTE TO "A GREAT GENTLEMAN OF FOOTBALL" AFTER ENGLAND WORLD CUP-WINNING GOALKEEPER GORDON BANKS DIED, AGED 81. THE BARN ARTS PRODUCTION OF “THE BARBER OF SEVILLE,” DIRECTED BY NICHOLAS TOCCI WITH PIANIST CLAIRE BLACK, FEATURES TENOR BENJAMIN ROBINSON (CONTE ALMAVIVA), MEZZO-SOPRANO RAPHAELLA MEDINA (ROSINA), AND BASS-BARITONE TYLER BOUQUE (FIORELLO AND OFFICER). WE'VE SEEN HER LOCK LIPS WITH BEN ROBINSON, ADAM GLICK, AND CONRAD EMPSON (AND MAYBE EVEN ROSS INIA?), AND WE LIKE HER STYLE! PRCA JACKSON, MISS. TIE-DOWN ROPING AVERAGE: 1. BLAKE ASH, 16.8 SECONDS ON TWO HEAD, $3,174; 2. TYLER MILLIGAN, 17.4, $2,760; 3. ZACK JONGBLOED, 17.5, $2,346; 4. TRENTON SMITH, 17.6, $1,932; 5. BO PICKETT,  
3.
 
In my work as a librarian, I have to wear my first name on my shirt. It is shortened to Ben. The pages’ and shelfreaders' name tags just have their job title: Page / Shelfreader. The managers’ name tags reveal their first and last name as well as their job title.
 
Sometimes when I’m walking downtown, a patron will call out to me by name. Sometimes I’ll see a patron downtown and think, I know that person’s middle name.
 
Sometimes people at work ask me if my full first name is Benjamin. Then they ask if I know what my name means. These people are, almost without fail, Christians. They are always surprised to find out that I’m the first of two sons and not the youngest of twelve. They look at me as if I’m wearing the wrong name tag. Wearing the name wrong. Why would someone name a first-born gentile Benjamin?

17.8, $1,518; 6. HAVEN MEGED, 18.2, $1,104; 7. BEN ROBINSON, 18.5, $690; 8. BRAXTON LAUGHLIN, 18.8, $276. NOVELTY PRIZE WINNERS INCLUDED BRETT MANNERS (LONG DRIVE ON THE 14TH), BRIAN RANDALL (LONG PUTT ON THE 15TH), MATTHEW WARBURTON, (BEST SECOND SHOT ON THE 13TH), AND BEN ROBINSON (NEAREST THE PIN ON THE 16TH). PINTEREST. BIKES. BENJAMIN ROBINSON. WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED IN LIFE? BIKES, BEER, CUDDLE. BENJAMIN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE, RNZ PACIFIC JOURNALIST, TELLS US STAFF PROVIDING SERVICES TO REFUGEES ON MANUS ISLAND HAVE WALKED OFF THE JOB IN PROTEST. "CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS REPRESENT 90% OF THE NATION'S 3.3 TRILLION ANNUAL HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES," SAYS BEN ROBINSON, ZEEL'S SVP SALES. EARL BENJAMIN-ROBINSON, A HEALTH EQUITY STRATEGIST FROM NEW ORLEANS, CLOSED OUT THE CONFERENCE WITH AN INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE REMINDING ATTENDEES ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO “WALK FEARLESSLY FORWARD TO FREEDOM AS BEST AS WE CAN.” MINOR LEAGUE GOLF TOUR, THE EVERGREEN CLUB, PALM CITY: (FEB. 21) BEN ROBINSON, ENGLAND, $130.72 (37-35). IN OUR SECOND BLOG, DIRECTOR OF AGENCY SERVICES, BEN ROBINSON, CONSIDERS HOW AGENTS COULD BE IDENTIFYING MONEY LAUNDERING RISK IN THEIR BUSINESS. THOSE LEFT TO CHERISH HIS MEMORIES ARE HIS CHILDREN, MICHAEL (ANGELA) WESTMORELAND AND SAMANTHA (BEN) ROBINSON OF JASPER, TN. BEN ROBINSON’S BACK-POST HEADER 12 MINUTES FROM TIME LOOKED LIKE IT HAD RESCUED NEWMARKET A POINT, BUT THEY WERE PUNISHED FOR SOME SLACK DEFENDING IN THE FIRST MINUTE OF STOPPAGE TIME WHEN CAMERON RUSSELL TURNED THE BALL HOME. BEN ROBINSON, FROM TUNBRIDGE WELLS, SAYS HE WAS SUDDENLY MADE AWARE OF THE OBSTACLES DEAF PEOPLE FACE WHEN HE MET COLLEAGUE TOM FROUDE. “I DIDN’T EVEN REALIZE I HAD DONE ALL THAT UNTIL I SAW BEN’S STORY,” WHITEMAN SAID, REFERRING TO BEN ROBINSON’ STORY ABOUT HER ON GOBUCCS.COM. REVIEW OF THE KID (1921) BY BENJAMIN ROBINSON: MY FAVOURITE SCENES ARE: GARBAGE FALLING ON CHARLIE, THE PANCAKE BREAKFAST, THE PUGILISM, AND FINALLY THE ANGEL WINGS. IN OUR FINAL BLOG, DIRECTOR OF AGENCY SERVICES, BEN ROBINSON, CONSIDERS HOW TO PUT TOGETHER YOUR RISK ASSESSMENT AND WHAT STEPS YOU CAN PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE YOU COMPLY WITH THE MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS 2017. CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON SAID: “AFTER WE MANAGED TO STAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR A SECOND SEASON, WE KNEW WE WOULD HAVE TO INVEST AGAIN IN THE FIRST TEAM SQUAD TO GIVE US THE BEST CHANCE OF PUNCHING ABOVE OUR WEIGHT AND AVOIDING RELEGATION.” REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS NAME TEAM FOR THE NORTHERN PRIDE 
4.
 
Early on in his practice, a patient asked my dad, “What was your name before you changed it?” My dad was very confused and asked the patient what he meant by the question. The patient asked my dad what his last name had been before he changed it to Robinson.
 
My dad’s name is David. The patient thought that our original last name was something like Rubinstein or Rubinsohn or Rabinowitz. Despite my dad assuring the patient that, to his knowledge, our family name had not been changed at any time in recent memory, the patient asked what the names of my dad’s children were as though to prove his point. I am Ben and my brother is Sam – Benjamin and Samuel.
 
Afterwards, the patient’s wife, in an attempt at apology, told my dad not to worry because she thought Jewish doctors were the smartest doctors anyway. 


INTRUST SUPER CUP CLASH INCLUDING DYLAN BRIGGS, GEOFFEREY PRINCE, DWIGHT SAUHEA, ISAIAH LEALIIEE, BEN ROBINSON-PATCH. IN 2011, 14-YEAR-OLD NORTHERN IRELAND SCHOOLBOY BEN ROBINSON DIED AFTER BEING ALLOWED TO PLAY ON DESPITE DEMONSTRATING CLEAR SIGNS HE’D SUFFERED A SIGNIFICANT BRAIN INJURY DURING AN ULSTER SCHOOLS GAME BETWEEN CARRICKFERGUS GRAMMAR AND DALRIADA. LAUGHTER FILLED THE SANCTUARY AS LONGTIME FRIENDS BOB VOEGELI, BOB DICKSON AND BEN ROBINSON SHARED MEMORIES OF GOLF GAMES AND IMPROMPTU TRIPS TO LAS VEGAS. UP THE OTHER END HOME GOALKEEPER MICHAEL BETT DID WELL TO KEEP OUT EFFORTS FROM BEN ROBINSON AND WHITEHEAD. EXPLORE BENJAMIN ROBINSON'S 90 PHOTOS ON FLICKR! [LAUNCH OF NEW HERITAGE TRAIL IN FLINTSHIRE TOWN WITH THE HELP OF STUDENTS FROM ST RICHARD GWYN AND YSGOL CORNIST PARK ASSISTED IN DEVELOPING THE TRAIL BY TAKING PHOTOS, PRODUCING ARTWORK AND INTERVIEWING PEOPLE - PICTURED: CHAIR OF FCC PAUL CUNNINGHAM, CLLR CHRIS BITHEL, MP DAVID HANSON, FCC CHRIS REES JONES ALONG WITH ST RICHARD GWYN PUPILS JULIA HALAS, VILIUS FINKIS, ADAM GLOWACKI, BEN ROBINSON AND SANDRA DABROWSKI]. WHO IS BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON? WAS BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON ARRESTED? WHEN WAS BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON ARRESTED? WHAT WAS BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON ARRESTED FOR? IS THIS A MUGSHOT OF BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON? ARE THERE MORE MUGSHOTS OF BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON? IS THIS THE BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON YOU KNOW? BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON WAS BOOKED IN ORANGE COUNTY, FL ON 3/09/2019 AT 03:26. AFTER BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON WAS DETAINED BY AUTHORITIES ON 03-09-2019, ALL OF THE INFORMATION FILED ON THAT DATE, AS WELL AS ALL FUTURE FILES DOCKETED IN CONNECTION WITH THE APPREHENSION OF BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON IN ORANGE COUNTY, BECAME A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD. THAT IS WHY YOU ARE SEEING THIS REPORT ABOUT BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON; THIS WEBSITE ENDEAVORS TO PUBLISH AN ACCURATE RECORD OF ALL DETAINMENTS IN ORANGE COUNTY TO BETTER PROVIDE FOR TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT. IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: FOR AN UPDATE ON THE DETAINMENT OF BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON, YOU ARE WELCOME TO CONTACT THE ORANGE COUNTY CLERK OF COURTS. THE INCLUSION OF INFORMATION REGARDING BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON ON OUR WEBSITE IS AN INDICATION MERELY OF AN APPREHENSION. DO NOT ASSUME ANY CRIME WAS COMMITTED BY ANYONE WHOSE NAME, ADDRESS, DATE-OF-BIRTH, OR THE LIKE, APPEARS HEREIN. IN THE UNITED STATES, EVERYONE DETAINED BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL, INCLUDING BERNA
5.
 
The Book of Genesis describes Benjamin as the second son of Rachel and the last of the twelve sons of Jacob who go on to form the twelve tribes of Israel. At some point during the birth, Rachel realizes she is not going to survive, and in the final moments before her passing, she tells her midwife that her son is to be named Ben Oni, meaning “son of my mourning” or “son of my sorrow.” At some point after the child is born, Jacob changes the child’s name to Ben Yamin or Benjamin, meaning “son of the right” or “son of the south” in reference to the region where Benjamin was born. The name can also be translated as “son of my days” in reference to Jacob’s old age at the time of the birth.
 
The biblical scholar Robert Alter says, “In the reports given in the biblical narrative it is more often the mother who does the naming. This is the sole instance of competing names assigned respectively by the mother and father.”[1] I can imagine Jacob would not have wanted his child’s life to be defined by mourning and sorrow, but how long did he wait to change his son’s name? Did he ever speak it? Did anyone use it in secret? Did Benjamin know?
 
My family also has a name which is rarely spoken. In between my younger brother and I, my sister Emily was stillborn. Growing up, my only connections to Emily were a tiny pewter angel given to me by my parents, a family outing each year on her birthday to tend the children’s garden at the church, and the odd time my dad would bring a box of photos down from a shelf in his closet.
 
It has taken expecting a child of my own to begin to reckon with the fact that my mother was pregnant not twice but three times, to consider how difficult it must be when people ask how many children she has, what their names are.


[1] Alter, The Five Books of Moses, p.197-198


​RD BENJAMIN ROBINSON IS PRESUMED INNOCENT. BERNARD BENJAMIN ROBINSON'S NAME AND/OR IMAGE APPEAR(S) HEREIN BECAUSE IT/THEY ARE PART OF THE ORANGE COUNTY CLERK OF COURT'S OFFICIAL RECORD AND ARE PUBLISHED IN ACCORDANCE WITH ALL LOCAL AND STATE LAWS IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA (USA). CONSOLIDATED CHARITY CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON SAID: “THIS IS OUR FIRST GRANTS MEETING OF THE YEAR AND WE RECEIVED A LARGE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FROM A VERY DIVERSE GROUP OF ORGANIZATIONS.” BEN ROBINSON, LUCIA HERNANDEZ, AISLING FARRELL AND SEAN CULLIGAN WON A GRANT OF €1,000 FOR THEIR DESIGN OF A MICRO-BIT MOISTURE MONITOR WHICH INVOLVED CREATING AN AUTOMATIC PLANT WATERING SYSTEM. SHE IS SURVIVED BY HER HUSBAND: GERALD WILLIAM ROBINSON, WHOM SHE MARRIED JAN. 10, 1976; TWO DAUGHTERS: NANCY JANE ROBINSON OF LITCHFIELD, ILL., AND GINA (DAN) MCCULLEY OF BYRNES MILL; A BROTHER: ROBERT F. (MICHELLE ANN) SELF JR. OF DE SOTO; EIGHT GRANDCHILDREN: EMILEE G. (TROY) LONG, GAVIN MIDDLETON, SAMUEL MIDDLETON, JOSEPH MIDDLETON, BENJAMIN ROBINSON, KIRSTEN (JAYMES BROOKSHIRE) CATES, HAYLEY CATES AND HANNAH MCCULLEY; AND NUMEROUS NIECES, NEPHEWS, COUSINS AND FRIENDS. BEN ROBINSON AND MICHELLE CHENEY FROM MICHAEL ROBINSON REAL ESTATE PRESENT A SPONSORSHIP CHEQUE TO MAGPIES PRESIDENT MATTHEW COLEMAN. RED CLIFFE DOLPHINS LINE-UP: 1. DYLAN BRIGGS 2. GEOFFREY PRINCE 3. DWIGHT SAUEHA 5. NATHAN DAWES 6. BEN ROBINSON-PATCH 7. HUDSON JONES 8. ZACHARY KERR 9. JAYDEN NEWBOULD 10. PATRICK RANDALL 11. JESSE JENNINGS 12. LACHLAN CHARD 13. OWEN JONES 14. MALYCHE TAFILI 16. HUNTER SMALLHORN 19. THOMPSON-REED KARENA 20. MANFRED BABAO 23. DANE PRATT. THE COMPANY'S CANADIAN PARENT HAS BEEN GRANTED PROTECTION FROM ITS CREDITORS WHILE IT RESTRUCTURES, WHICH THE GROUPS SAY WILL LEAD IT TO SELLING ITS PNG LICENSES ACCORDING TO BEN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE. LISTEN TO BENJAMIN ROBINSON - WHAT DO YOU SEEK? AND 65 OTHER EPISODES BY ARK MINISTRIES OF BERKELEY. AFTER A FAILED ATTEMPT TO SELL THE BUSINESS IN 2017, OWNER BEN ROBINSON HAS FINALLY SECURED A BUYER, AND WOUND DOWN HIS OWNERSHIP OF THE BUSINESS IN FEBRUARY. FROM THE FIELDS' BEN ROBINSON OUTLINES HOW ENERGY REVOLUTION IS HELPING THE LIVE EVENTS INDUSTRY TACKLE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TRAVEL. BEN ROBINSON, A TISBURY PLANNING BOARD MEMBER WHO HAS TRAVELED TO WASHINGTON WITH HIS FAMILY TO SUPPORT THE GREEN NEW DEAL AND WHOSE CHILDREN HAVE BEEN STRIKING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS, PRESSED KEATING, WHO HAS ENDORSED THE IDEA, TO DO MORE. REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS (20) TRIES: DWIGH
6.
 
A Google search for “Ben Robinson” yields 347,000 results. A search for “Benjamin Robinson”: 134,000 results.
 
A search for “Allison Geleynse,” my wife’s name, yields twenty-eight results. All twenty-eight are about her.
 
Allison’s name is unique. First, the second “l” in her first name is a non-traditional spelling of the more common version, which has one “l.” Second, her family name, “Geleynse,” is a less-common variant of the more traditional “Geleijnse.”

 
When we first started dating I had both her first name and last name misspelled in my phone contact for her, the first name missing an “l” and the last name the second “e.”

T SAUEHA, ZACHARY KERR, AMANI ARUTAHIKI, BEN ROBINSON-PATCH. IT IS NOW EIGHT YEARS SINCE CARRICKFERGUS SCHOOLBOY BEN ROBINSON DIED FROM BRAIN INJURIES RECEIVED ON THE PITCH, BUT THE GOVERNING BODIES STILL HAVE NOT FOUND A WAY TO MAKE THE GAME SAFER FOR PLAYERS. SHINN SWITCHED THE BALL WIDE TO THE RIGHT FOR BEN ROBINSON, WHO WAITED FOR BLAKE KICKS TO GO BEYOND HIM ON THE OVERLAP. AFTER BEN ROBINSON EARNED THEM 1-1 DRAW AT CRICKET FIELD ROAD, NEWMARKET WENT OUT 4-2 ON PENALTIES, SHATTERING DREAMS OF A THIRD FINAL IN SIX YEARS. RUNNERS UP INCLUDE ANNA REM, RILEY OLSON, LAUREN WHYTE, PARKER HAWKINSON, BEN ROBINSON, AND JOSEPH ROBINSON. IN 2011, 14-YEAR-OLD BEN ROBINSON DIED AFTER SUSTAINING A HEAD INJURY DURING A RUGBY MATCH AND HIS FATHER EXPRESSED HIS DISMAY AT SATURDAY'S OFFICIATING ON TWITTER. ACTS 14 | FIX THE HOLE IN YOUR FAITH: A MESSAGE DELIVERED BY BENJAMIN ROBINSON AT OUR EMERYVILLE CAMPUS. AND ALBION CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON CONFIRMED THEY WOULD TAKE “A POSITIVE LOOK” AT THE POSSIBILITY AGAIN THIS TIME AROUND. BENJAMIN ROBINSON, GRINDING THE MOCKS: A THEORY OF MOCK DRAFTS, IN WHICH I DEVELOP A THEORY OF MOCK DRAFTS AND EXPLAIN WHY I AM INTERESTED IN USING THEM AS A WAY TO PREDICT THE NFL DRAFT. BEN ROBINSON SAYS BURTON ALBION’S TWO SEASONS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP HAVE GIVEN THE CLUB “MORE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT WE CAN GET.” DALLAS MORNING NEWS OUTTAKES: BENJAMIN ROBINSON COVERS DEEP ELLUM PROTEST. ROBINSON PROPERTY'S BEN ROBINSON IS MARKETING A SIZEABLE PENTHOUSE IN THE ROYAL COMPLEX WITH A PRICE GUIDE OF $3.85 MILLION. “THE GLOBAL DIGITAL BANKING MARKET IS EXPECTED TO REACH NEARLY $9 TRILLION (USD) BY 2025, AND THIS EXPANSION IS DRIVEN BY THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE NEW SERVICES IN NEW MARKETS,” SAID BEN ROBINSON, TEMENOS CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER & HEAD OF MARKETPLACE. HE HAS ESPECIALLY THANKED BUSINESSMEN BEN ROBINSON AND MALCOLM PRENTICE FOR THEIR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT HELPING HIM RAISE MONEY FOR VARIOUS GOOD CAUSES. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALS GRADUATION CLASS 19-C, 75TH COMMUNICATIONS & INFORMATION DIRECTORATE: BENJAMIN ROBINSON. AND BEN ROBINSON, THE CLUB CHAIRMAN, SAYS THE JOURNEY WILL BE ETCHED INTO THE CLUB‘S HISTORY. “A CLOUD-FIRST SECURITY STRATEGY IS NOT ONLY DESIRABLE FOR SPEED-TO-MARKET AND FLEXIBILITY, BUT IS ALSO A REQUIREMENT FOR COMPLIANCE IN MANY CASES,” SAID BEN ROBINSON, THE CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER & HEAD OF THE TEMENOS MARKETPLACE. SAM GOMARSALL LED THE WAY FOR THE JOCKEYS WITH A HAT-TRICK, WHILE BEN 
7.
 
Even my full name is not my own. A Google search for “Benjamin David Philip Robinson,” a name I use only on government identification, brings up one result:
 
Benjamin David Philip Robinson, our sweet baby boy, passed away Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010. He was the infant son of Shawn and Jenny Robinson of Sharon, Wis. He was brother to Dylan Tre, Ashton Kade, Shawn Thomas and Emalia Layla, all of Sharon Wis. He is survived by his grandparents, Melanie Robinson, Edward and Betty (Gerambio) Kersting and Joseph Maxwell, all of Harvard; his great-grandmother, Barbara Gerambio of McHenry; his aunts and uncles, Eric and Lora Robinson of Wonder Lake, Philip Robinson Jr. of Delavan, Wis., Scott Robinson and Bridget Snell of Harvard; and his cousins, Trinida, Brook, Morgan, Riley, Evan, Luke and Conner. He was preceded in death by his grandpa, Philip “Papa Lucky” Robinson.
 
The visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at Toynton Funeral Home, 210 Baldwin St., Sharon, Wis. Prayers will be said at 1 p.m. The Rev. Keck Mowry will officiate. Private family interment will be held immediately after. The family will hold a gathering at the Sharon Community Center at 1:30 pm.
 
If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane,
I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again.
 
In lieu of flowers, donations and gifts may be made to the family. For information, call the funeral home at 262-275-2171.[1]


[1] http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nwherald/obituary.aspx?n=benjamin-david-philip-robinson&pid=
146067123


ROBINSON NETTED TWICE AND JACK WHITING - WITH A 30 YARD STUNNER - AND LEWIS WHITEFILED WERE ALSO ON THE SCORESHEET. ACTS 15 | THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT, SPEAKER: BENJAMIN ROBINSON, SAN FRANCISCO CAMPUS, 7/4/2019, FREE, VIEW IN ITUNES. SAMUEL ALSO QUIZZED BURTON ALBION FC CHIEF, BEN ROBINSON, WHO IS ONE OF JUST A HANDFUL OF BLACK, ASIAN, AND MINORITY ETHNIC (BAME) CHAIRMEN IN THE ENGLISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE. ANDREW OSTLE HELPED HIMSELF TO A HAT-TRICK AND WAS NAMED ELLENBOROUGH’S MAN OF THE MATCH AND HE WAS FOLLOWED OVER THE SEATON LINE BY BEN ROBINSON, LUKE PENRICE, MATTHEW BELL, ZAC OLSTRUM AND KAI GILHESPY. THERE IS ALSO STILL JUST THE ONE BRITISH CHAIRMAN OF A CLUB, BEN ROBINSON AT LEAGUE ONE BURTON ALBION, WHO IS FROM AN AFRICAN AND CARIBBEAN BACKGROUND. GALLERY 4 ART EXHIBITION - BEN ROBINSON - POETRY – $5/FT. CENTRAL - 1ST FLOOR GALLERY 4. BEN ROBINSON, 24, SUFFERED WITH ANOREXIA NERVOSA FROM THE AGE OF 15, AND AS A RESULT, SPENT A YEAR AS AN INPATIENT IN A SPECIALISED ADOLESCENT UNIT. BEN ROBINSON, A MEMBER OF THE TISBURY PLANNING BOARD, SAID THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN TAKING NO ACTION ON THE FUNDS WOULD ESSENTIALLY BE AN ENDORSEMENT OF THE ENTIRE TRACK AND FIELD PROJECT. JOE ROSE BAGGED TWO FOR THE VICTORS, WHOSE OTHER GOALS CAME COURTESY OF AL WRAY, BEN ROBINSON AND MAN OF THE MATCH MAX LOY. BEN ROBINSON ALSO BAGGED A BRACE FOR THE JOCKEYS, WHILE LEWIS WHITEHEAD AND JOE WHITING NETTED TOO. BREWERS CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON SAID: "WE ARE ALWAYS DELIGHTED TO WELCOME BURTON ROTARY CLUB TO THE PIRELLI STADIUM FOR THIS POPULAR EVENT.” HIS BLOSSOMING PARTNERSHIP WITH BEN ROBINSON CAME TO FRUITION ONCE AGAIN AS THE WINGER CUSHIONED A HEADER PERFECTLY INTO WHITEHEAD’S PATH AND NEWMARKET’S NUMBER NINE DID THE REST WITH A COMPOSED FINISH FROM 12 YARDS OUT. “AS REPORTED ON SKY SPORTS NEWS YESTERDAY WE HAVE HAD OFFERS FROM FIVE FOOTBALL CLUBS TO SHARE WITH THEM, AND AS BURTON HAVE COME OUT AND CONFIRMED THEY ARE ONE OF THE CLUBS I AM HAPPY TO SAY I DID RECEIVE CALL FROM CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON, WHO I HAVE KNOWN FOR MANY YEARS, THEY HAVE KINDLY OFFERED US THEIR FACILITIES.” GIVEN AN EXCELLENT RIDE BY APPRENTICE BEN ROBINSON, THE NINE-YEAR-OLD STAYED ON STRONGLY TO DENY SEMPRE PRESTO HER THIRD COURSE WIN. A HIGH BALL INTO THE BOX SAW BEN ROBINSON SHOVE BARNES OUT OF THE WAY TO HEAD GOALWARDS. PROFESSIONAL SOLOISTS FOR THE PROGRAM ARE MARIA FERRANTE, SOPRANO; PAMELA STEVENS, MEZZO-SOPRANO; BENJAMIN ROBINSON, TENOR, AND BRIAN MING-CHU, BARITONE. REQUITED JOURNAL A
8.
 
The life of the original Benjamin was marked by his father’s grief at losing Rachel and resulting anxieties around losing her two remaining sons. This is nowhere clearer than in what is the most well-known story involving Benjamin, an elaborate revenge plot in the forty-fourth chapter of the Book of Genesis.

Along with his ten half-brothers, Benjamin had one full brother, Joseph. Joseph was openly their father’s favourite, which causes his other brothers to become jealous and sell him into slavery in Egypt. Unbeknownst to the brothers, Joseph rises through the ranks in Egypt and so, when the brothers are forced to go to Egypt for famine relief, they must deal with Joseph, whom they presumed was dead. Though the brothers don’t recognize Joseph at first, he recognizes them immediately.

Joseph welcomes the brothers, replenishes their food stores, and, as they are preparing to return home to Canaan, he puts his plot into action. Joseph tells his servant to hide his silver cup in Benjamin’s bag before they leave and then sends his men after the brothers to tell them whoever is found with the silver cup must become his slave. When it is revealed that Benjamin has the cup, the brothers all tear their clothes in grief and Benjamin pleads, swearing that, “As truly as my brother Joseph is separated from me, as truly as he has been made a slave, I have not touched the cup.”[1]

Joseph asks Benjamin to prove that his brother’s memory is truly significant enough for Joseph to take him at his word. At this point, Benjamin reveals that he has recorded his brother’s story in the same way his father and mother recorded theirs, by documenting it in the names of the next generation. Much like Ben Oni/Ben Yamin’s name documents his mother’s death and his father’s grief, the names of each of Benjamin’s children document the life of his brother:

  • Bela (swallow) because Joseph disappeared or was swallowed up
  • Beker (first born) because Joseph was Rachel’s first child
  • Ashbel (capture) because Joseph was sold into captivity
  • Gera (grain) because Joseph was in Egypt where the grain grew
  • Naaman (grace) because of Joseph’s eloquence
  • Ehi (brother) because Joseph was Benjamin’s only full brother
  • Rosh (elder) because Joseph was older than Benjamin
  • Muppim (double mouth) because Joseph passed on Jacob’s teachings
  • Huppim (marriage canopies) because Benjamin missed Joseph’s wedding
  • Ard (rose) because of Joseph’s wanderings[2]


[1] http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2947-benjamin
[2] Sotah 36b, Talmud


RCHIVE: PERFORMANCE, BENJAMIN ROBINSON. BEN ROBINSON: JEREMY MCGOVERN, ESPECIALLY IF FREO DELIVER THE BALL INTO THE FORWARD LINE IN THEIR NOW-CUSTOMARY FASHION. THERE WERE SEVEN REGISTERED BIDDERS FOR WHAT ROBINSON PROPERTY'S BEN ROBINSON DESCRIBED AS "A GREAT AUCTION" WHICH RESULTED IN A NEW PRICE HIGH FOR MEREWETHER'S FELLOWES STREET, ACCORDING TO AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY MONITORS DATA. AND DESPITE BURTON ALBION CHAIRMAN BEN ROBINSON PREVIOUSLY REVEALING THAT THEY WOULD TAKE "A POSITIVE LOOK" AT COVENTRY CITY'S PROPOSAL, THEY ARE NO LONGER BELIEVED TO BE ONE OF THE CLUBS REFERRED TO IN YESTERDAY'S STATEMENT RELEASED BY COVENTRY CITY. STOWMARKET FELL BEHIND IN THE 10TH MINUTE AT NEWMARKET WHEN LEWIS WHITEHEAD SMARTLY SIDE-FOOTED IN BEN ROBINSON’S KNOCKDOWN FROM 12 YARDS OUT. IN ADDITION TO A GREAT MEAL, YOU’LL BE TREATED TO ITALIAN SOLO PERFORMANCES BY SHS STATE SOLOISTS INCLUDING SOPRANO HOPE AMBRIDGE, MEZZO SOPRANO ANNA HUGHES (FRENCH), MEZZO SOPRANO KATHI KESSLER (GERMAN), ALTO JAIDA DONALDSON, ALTO MIKAYLA SCHOENING (ENGLISH), TENOR BURTON ANDERSON, TENOR RILEY ANDERSON, BARITONE IGNACIO PADILLA, BARITONE JOEL JOHNSON, BASS BEN ROBINSON, BARITONE ZANE RASOR (PORTUGESE), AND BASS FREDDY LIBBY. HE GOT INTO THE BACK OF A CAR WHICH WAS DRIVEN BY DEALER GEOFFREY FINCH AND IN WHICH SIDEKICKS OLIVER DWYER AND BEN ROBINSON WERE PASSENGERS. BENJAMIN ROBINSON - APPLE - WORSHIP SET LIST: FOREVERNO OTHERSAVIOR MERCYLIVING HOPE. KAYLEE HUGHES (RUTH), BENJAMIN ROBINSON (FREDRICK) AND JACK SEAGUE (PIRATE KING) SING TO THE BALCONY IN THE SECOND ACT OF PIRATE'S OF PENZANCE. THE VOCAL STRENGTH OF THE ENTIRE CAST IS REMARKABLE, WITH STAND-OUT PERFORMANCES BY KAYLEE HUGHES AS RUTH, TYLER MCKENZIE AS THE MAJOR GENERAL, JACK SEAGUE AS THE PIRATE KING, MEGAN VAUGHN AS MABEL AND GUEST ARTIST BENJAMIN ROBINSON SINGING TENOR AS FREDERICK, OUR STORY’S HERO. STUDENTS WERE GIVEN A CHANCE TO WORK WITH A VISITING TENOR, BENJAMIN ROBINSON, WHO HAS PERFORMED FREDERICK IN OVER FORTY VENUES AND GAVE THE FINAL PROFESSIONAL FLOURISHES TO THIS 2018-19 CAPSTONE TO REMEMBER. STITT ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY HIS SELECTION OF RETIRED AIR FORCE BRIG. GEN. BEN ROBINSON TO THE CABINET POST THAT REQUIRES SENATE CONFIRMATION. THE PHOTO ALSO INCLUDED CHEF BEN ROBINSON, LEADING MANY TO SPECULATE THAT HE MIGHT BE JOINING THE CREW THIS SEASON. MEMBERS OF THE DCHS INDOOR WINDS ENSEMBLE ARE MAGGIE BACON, EILEEN BRANDON, OLIVIA BROWN, JACOB CALLOWAY, BRODY 
9.
 
The process of setting a Google Alert on my name began as I imagine it does for many people who do so, out of a desire to keep an eye on what is being said about you on the internet. However, it became clear as the alerts began to arrive that most of what I would receive would not be about me but instead about football coaches and rugby players and historians and criminals and CEOs and celebrity chefs. It took 146 results before I made an appearance. Have you found me yet?
 
Strangely, once all the entries were copied into my master Word document, our accomplishments were virtually indistinguishable. Myself, and the child prodigy guitarist who appeared on David Letterman at age thirteen, and the Irish fiction writer who published a story in a journal based less than an hour from my house, and the other poets (see below), began to meld together into one monolithic Ben(jamin) Robinson. What was meant to be a spotlight functioned more like walking into a large crowd – my tendency to blend in reflected perfectly. 

Brilliant
​Enthusiastic
Noisy

Rewarding
Organised
B
Intelligent
Non-flammable
Shy
Ordinary
N​egotiable

CECIL, CHASE CECIL, ISAIAH CLOUSE, LUKE DURBIN, LUKE EDMONDS, ALLIE FEARS, DAWSON GRAY, EMILY HANCOCK, CHLOE JONES, AVERY KRAHWINKEL, ABBY LEE, BROOKLYN MAGLINGER, ABBY MCNABB, AUSTIN MILLS, J.T. NEWKIRK, JACOB NUGENT, LUKE PAYNE, SETH PAYNE, SYDNEY PECKINPAUGH, BEN ROBINSON, EMMA SANCHEZ, EMMA SMITH, AMELIA SOSH, BRENTON STEMPLE, DAVID STEVENS, LAUREN TADLOCK, JOSH TILLIS, COLLEEN TURNER, KAYLEE VITATO, MAGGIE VOORIS, ASHLEY WAHLER, ALEXIS WILKERSON, XAVIER WILSON, WILLIAM WOOD AND TRENT WOOLARD. ELLENBOROUGH WON WELL WITH TRIES FROM MAN OF THE MATCH BEN ROBINSON (2), KEVIN HOBAN, OWEN HOYLES, NIALL GRAY, KAI GILHESPY AND RHYS BURR. MORE THAN A MOMENT – SPEAKER: BENJAMIN ROBINSON, EMERYVILLE CAMPUS. FINCH, 36, OF CARRANT ROAD, TEWKESBURY, DWYER, 30, OF BANTOCK ROAD, HARBORNE, BIRMINGHAM, AND BEN ROBINSON, 22, OF NORTH BOUNDARY ROAD, BRIXHAM, ALL ADMITTED SUPPLY AND POSSESSION OF HEROIN AND COCAINE WITH INTENT TO SUPPLY. OFF-SPINNER BEN ROBINSON HAS RETURNED TO THE CLUB WHERE HE STARTED HIS CAREER ALONG WITH FELLOW TWEAKER DAN VERNON. HOWEVER, THE WALL IS DESCRIBED BY DR BEN ROBINSON, TV PRESENTER AND A PRINCIPAL ADVISER TO HERITAGE ENGLAND, AS ONE OF THE TOP 25 MOST IMPORTANT SCHEDULED MONUMENTS IN THE COUNTRY, OTHERS ON THE LIST INCLUDE STONEHENGE. AN OUTBREAK OF TYPHOID FEVER HAS STRUCK REFUGEES DETAINED BY AUSTRALIA ON PAPUA NEW GUINEA'S MANUS ISLAND REPORTS BENJAMIN ROBINSON-DRAWBRIDGE. HE IS PARTNERED BY BEN ROBINSON WHO TAKES OFF A VALUABLE 3LB. SENIOR BEN ROBINSON IS THE SON OF JASON AND KATHY ROBINSON OF WINONA. DETECTIVE SERGEANT BEN ROBINSON, FROM HUMBERSIDE POLICE'S ECONOMIC CRIME UNIT, HAS PLEDGED TO TACKLE THE RISE IN THE NUMBER OF ROMANCE FRAUD OFFENCES AND SAYS PREVENTION IS THE KEY. “THE TEAM BETWEEN MOQDIGITAL, LAING O’ROURKE AND NUTANIX WORKED REALLY WELL TOGETHER TO SECURE AND ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF THIS DEPLOYMENT,” MOQDIGITAL SALES MANAGER BEN ROBINSON TOLD CRN. HAPPY TO SIDE WITH THE BEN ROBINSON TRAINED 9 ALFIE JUNIOR. I’M KEEN TO SEE THE BEN ROBINSON TRAINED 12 SPORTINI GOING CLOSE TO WINNING. PICTURED IN THE TOP ROW ARE BURTON ANDERSON, IGNACIO PADILLA, AND BEN ROBINSON. HOST ANDY COHEN ASKED ROSBACH TO CHOOSE BETWEEN CHEF BEN ROBINSON OR MARTIN’S COOKING. “GEN. BEN ROBINSON BRAVELY SERVED OUR COUNTRY IN THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE, AND CONTINUES TO CONTRIBUTE TO OKLAHOMA’S VETERANS AND MILITARY COMMUNITY EVERY DAY,” SAID STITT. BEN ROBINSON, DIRECTOR OF AGENCY SERVICES, LA
10.
 
When I first began this project, the name “Ben(jamin) Robinson” seemed to be a stand-in for whiteness – a generic tag that conveyed a certain degree of privileged invisibility and a kind of bland, vague culture. For the most part, the results collected by the Google Alert confirmed this: they described the lives and achievements of white, English-speaking men from the U.K. and its various former colonies (largely America, New Zealand, Australia and Canada).[1] Though it was (fittingly) difficult to determine the race of any individual Benjamin Robinson using only the text of the articles, as things progressed, it became clear that the name did belong to some people outside of just white Anglo-Saxon Protestants.
 
There are about a half-dozen Black men explicitly identified in the articles, including Professor Benjamin Robinson, the department chair of the College of Business at Johnson & Wales University in North Carolina, Earl and Michael Benjamin-Robinson who were “the first same sex couple to legally marry in the state and started the first Black Gay Pride celebration in Mississippi in 2004,”[2] and Bernard Benjamin Robinson from the state of Florida, whose 2019 arrest was detailed in an article which included the most repeated mentions of “Benjamin Robinson” with fourteen.
 
The only other non-white Ben(jamin) Robinson seems to be Benjamin “Monty” Robinson – a member of the Osoyoos First Nation and former RCMP corporal who was involved in the 2007 taser death of Robert Dziekański at the Vancouver International Airport.[3]
 
What does it mean then that the name is not a marker of culture, race, or ethnicity, (or, to some degree, even gender)? What then does it denote? What possible logic could lie behind the dizzying chain of events that had to take place for myself and many of these other Benjamin Robinsons to end up on the same continent, with the same name, speaking the same language?


[1] A notable exception to the maleness of the results were a handful of historical mentions of Mrs. Benjamin Robinsons, the most notable of whom served as the President of the International Council of Jewish Women.
[2] http://www.louisianaweekly.com/celebrating-love/
[3] https://www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/SC/15/15/2015BCSC1535.htm


11.
 
Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” begins with the protagonist, Mrs. Johnson, waiting for the arrival of her daughter Dee. Dee has been away at university in the city and is coming back to visit her mother at their family home in an unnamed town in the American south. Upon her arrival, Dee tells her mother that she will no longer go by “Dee,” the name given to her by her family, but will instead be known as “Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo.” For the remainder of the story, she is referred to by a combination of the two names with one or the other bracketed at any given time. When Mrs. Johnson inquires about the name change, Dee/Wangero explains to her mother that she “couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress [her],” to which her mother replies, “You know as well as me you was named after your aunt Dicie.”
 
I bring up “Everyday Use” here not because it is an exact analogue for my situation – my name refers more to the people who have oppressed than “the people who oppress me” – but because it has hung over this writing. I tried to avoid the story but it has been insistent about its inclusion, partially because it so perfectly encapsulates the two parts of a proper name outlined by Errol Morris: “the beliefs associated with it and what it refers to” – the specific/individual context and the broader socio-historical context.
 
When Dee/Wangero thinks about her name, she sees that broader socio-historical situation that led to the erasure of traditional African names by white slaveholders. When Mrs. Johnson sees the name, she thinks of the generations of women in her family who have both been oppressed and resisted that oppression.
 
My name refers to me. I am Ben. The name associates me on the specific level with my parents who chose it for me. It is meaningful in that it was given to me by my family. Ben is also a word that predates me and, as such, associates me with other Bens across space and time. This is the trap of language: that a finite number of letters which combine to create a finite number of words in a finite number of languages are not enough to capture the richness and complexity of experience – things which are not exactly alike will have to be called by the same name.
 
My name is a reminder of both the grounding nature of family and the insignificance of the individual in the context of the vast history of the universe. It is a marker of the inescapability of history and of context, a reminder that to be born into and named in a world which pre-exists us means that we begin signifying even before we take our first breath.


Ben Robinson is a poet, musician and librarian. In 2019 he published three chapbooks: Mumbles in Hollywood, California (Simulacrum Press), The Sims in Real Life (The Blasted Tree) and Talking Gibberish to Strangers (above/ground press).

He has only ever lived in Hamilton, Ontario on the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas. He is @bengymen on Twitter.

Send inquiries to thetemzreview[at]gmail[dot]com
© COPYRIGHT 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Issues
  • Journal Subs
  • 845 Press
    • Catalogue