Okuma – Ride that donkey!

İşinden önce onurunu düşünen bir adamın işsiz kalma hikayesi basit İngilizce anlatımla / The story of a man whose honor is his first priority in simple English

• Hikaye ⇓
• Test

Turgay has been unemployed for almost three months. This has been a difficult period for him. He has been unable to pay his debts. Fortunately, his wife works. However, she is always complaining about his being unemployed. She often says, “It was your fault. You should have listened to me and ride that donkey.”

Ride that donkey! That was what his boss had told him and this is where the story begins.

Three months ago, on a Tuesday morning, Turgay went to work as usual. He was the top engineer at an electronics company, Meko, which produced TVs and computers. His boss, Mr. Şener, was waiting for him in his office.

“Hi, Turgay. You are a bit late, aren’t you?
“Yes, Mr. Şener. But just a bit.”
“Yes, only a bit. But this is not the reason for my coming to your office. I have important news for you. We are filming a new commercial for our computers and I want you to play in it.”

Turgay was perplexed (=confused, surprised). He didn’t know what to say. So, he expected Mr. Şener to finish his talk.

Mr. Şener told him that the new commercial was about new the computers that they were planning to produce. It had a wonderful scenario, he said. According to the scenario, Turgay would play a gangster in 1930s in the USA, when making, selling and drinking of alcoholic drinks were prohibited (=forbidden). He would be carrying alcoholic drinks illegally from the Mexican border into the USA. And he would use a donkey to transport them. While passing the border, he would be riding the donkey and singing a famous Turkish song, Bir Garip Aşığım Ben.

Turgay couldn’t listen to him anymore and he said,
“But Mr. Şener, this is a very stupid film and it has nothing to do with computers!”
“Listen, boy. Everybody who watches this commercial will agree with you. I know that this film is nonsense. But it will also be very confusing and it will make people think! And that is what I want. They must think.”
“But, what will they find when they think about it?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. But they will remember it. Do you understand now?”
“Yes, I do. But I don’t want to play in the commercial. Why don’t you find somebody else?”
“You must play because you are our symbol. You are the top engineer and people know you. They will remember you and then they will remember Meko!”
“I will think about it!” said Turgay.

When he went home in the evening, he told Cemile, his wife, about the film. He thought that she wouldn’t like it, either. So, he was expecting her to support him. However, she said, “Look, Turgay. If you don’t ride that donkey, Mr. Şener will probably dismiss you. You know that he is a very angry man. So, ride that donkey!”

No. He wouldn’t listen to her. The next day he went directly to Mr. Şener and said no. Since then he has been unemployed.