By: I Putu Supartika
Nengah Wiratma was a man with high level of optimism. He never
stooped himself. His
optimism was as high as the sky. It can’t be neither bended nor
lowered. His optimism was
unrivaled. Even businessmen with highest optimism will surely be
defeated by Nengah
Wiratma’s optimism.
Due to his optimism, he never gave up at doing anything. No matter
how difficult it is.
No matter how much the cost needed to fulfill it, that’s not a
problem. It will be done.
Besides, nobody could prevent him from doing what he wanted to do.
Even his wife, his
son, his parents, even more his neighbors who had no blood
relationship with him, certainly
can’t stop him.
Eventhough he had a high optimism, most of his projects were
quited on the way, since
he had more theories than efforts. Like what had happened
recently, what he did was this: he
made a kiln.
He had spent millions rupiah to build the kiln. He was optimist
that within a month, he
will be able to make money and profit at about ten million by
selling the bricks. His wife didn’t
believe him, so did his son. But Nengah Wiratma sticked to this
idea. He stayed firm with his
idea. At the end, now, the kiln turned into storage for the
firewoods which are used for
everyday cooking since the workers’ wages didn’t worth the job.
A lot of sands bought for the brick making are slashed by the
chickens, scattered in the
yard, most of the cements turned solid, and the brick maker
machine was left rusty, abandoned.
So he was loss, useless, spent more money without being able to
get any profit. His wife and his
son couldn’t say any thing, they could ony stare at the kiln which
is left useless.
Nengah Wiratma also had many new and brilliant ideas, seen from
his point of view,
though nobody could understand the idea that he was talking about.
If he talked with his
neighbors or in the coffee shop, he always talked about his ideas.
People he was talking with
were merely nodding. Since no one could understand what Nengah
Wiratma was talking about.
When he had finished talking, he’ll ask.
“What do you think? Can you get my idea?”
Those people, who didn’t understand what he said always
replied.
“Yes, we can, we do understand what you’ve said.”
“Was it a good idea?”
“Really good, Ngah! Very, very good idea!” those people replied as
they understand it
very well, though they didn’t get anything.
After talking with his neighbors or in the coffee shop, he would
go home in hurry. Then
he shouted at his wife who was busy in the kitchen. So did his son
who was seriously studying
or doing his homework. When both of them already sat in a row in
the porch, he would talk to
them about his newest idea which had been discussed with the
neighbors before.
“Luh, I have a good idea. And you too, Putu, daddy’s handsome son.
Daddy has a great
idea. I’ve talked about it in the coffee shop with our neighbors
who bought some coffee. They
listened to me talking about the idea carefully. When I asked
about their opinion, they all said
that this idea was great. Now, I will tell you, Putu, and you, my
wife. I’m really optimist, this
idea will rock the world and people will respect me.”
His wife and his son listened to Nengah Wiratma’s idea carefully.
Though, they didn’t
get what he said. They only listened, but the words were gone with
the wind.
After talking about the idea, as usual, he asked his son and wife.
“How was it? Wasn’t that a great idea?”
“What did you say? I don’t get it. Better you work hard than
talking nonsense!” That’s
what his wife said, continued her work in the kitchen.
“Oh, My! Don’t you know this is a great idea? How about you, Putu?
Wasn’t that a good
idea?”
“I don’t understand either, Dad, I’ll continue my homework!” his
son then left him
alone.
“Gosh, I can’t rely on them, how can we be rich with this
attitude?” Nengah Wiratma
murmured.
Despite of his high optimism and his new ideas, Nengah Wiratma
also wanted to be a
rich man. A person who had an abundant of wealth. Who is able to fulfill his desire. Getting a car,
getting luxurious jewelries, building a storied house. He was also ambitious.
His ambition
equaled his high optimism, as high as the sky. His ambition was to
be the richest man in the
village, his another ambition.
He once also told his son.
“Son, if you have finished your study in the high school, I’ll
send you to study abroad.
So that people will be amazed upon seeing us. So that they’ll
recognize our condition. You
simply need to pick the school that you want. The most important
thing, the school should be
overseas.”
“Okay, Dad. If you can do it, it will be good too, but if you
can’t, I don’t mind to go to
the college here, in Bali,” his son replied.
“Don’t doubt me! You’ll study abroad for sure!”
In order to fulfill his ambition, he took many jobs, eventhough he
already had a
permanent job. His permanent job was being a roving injector. He
didn’t shot a human, but he
gave an injection to animals in heat. People usually called it an
animals mating injection worker.
He was never satisfied with what he got from his work as a mating
injector. He always
tried to find a job which can give him much money.
Formerly, when the digging workers team was still operating and
active, he joined the
team, becoming a digger. Left home in the early morning and get
back in the evening. Carrying
a hoe here and there. He once also went out of the village for a
digging project.
But Nengah Wiratma was always sneaky. He wanted to do the job in
easy way. At 10
o’clock, he would go home, doing his job as a mating injector. At
3 o’clock in the afternoon, he
would go back to the digging site. One day he didn’t join his team
in the morning digging, but
at 2 o’clock in the afternoon he went there. Although he worked
unfairly, his wages might not
be reduced. He always insisted that his wage should be equal with
the other workers’ who
worked from morning to the afternoon. This situation provoked the
members of the digging
team’s complaint, and Nengah Wiratma was never invited to any
digging project anymore.
After quiting his side job as a digging worker, he got another new
side job. He became a
bird trader. He got birds from people’s houses in the village. He
persuaded people to sell the
birds they had.
Those people felt sorry to see Nengah Wiratma’s effort in
persuading them. Then they
sold the birds. Those birds were then sold to the market. In the
market he always tried to
tricked people to buy the birds with high price, to get a big
profit.
Finally, people who gave the birds to Nengah Wiratma knew what he
did. And they had
learned a lesson to not giving him a bird anymore. Though he
persuaded them, no body gave a
bird to him anymore. Since nobody gave him any bird again, he
quited his job as a bird trader.
Then he applied a job as an electronic stuffs salesperson. While
doing his job as a mating
injector, he also worked as a salesman. He persuaded people who
wanted to get their animals
injected to buy the promoted electronic stuffs. In the afternoon,
after injecting animals, he was a
busy salesman. He entered every house, from end to end, with no
exception. He went back
home in the evening. In his house, while sitting in the porch,
leaning to the wall, he always
thought about a good idea to let him get more profit.
When the durian season arrived, he moved to another side job. From
an electronic stuff
salesman, now he is a durian seller. He thought that being a
salesman was useless since he did
more effort compared to the results he had got.
Now, he looked for durians everyday. He visited people who had
durian plants in their
houses. He also tricked them to get low price. He said that their
durians were smalls and did
not taste good. Their durians were often compared to the others’.
When the wani fruit season arrived, he also doubled as a wani
trader. As usual, he
tricked people to get low priced wani fruits. And he would sell
them in the market with high
price.
He was also a land realtor. Wherever he was, he always talked
about lands, when he
wasn’t talking about land, then he should be talking about his
ideas that nobody could
understand.
All jobs were taken, he always bragged as if he was a rich man.
Talking about this, and
that. Expensive land, strategic location. Talking about wealth,
excessive amount of money,
storied house, luxurious car, brilliant idea, a son studying
overseas. But in fact, he had nothing
in his house. Everyday they only ate rice with salt and a little
coconut oil.
Like the proverb says, he was like a man who longs to point at the
moon. Running here
and there, but the moon can’t be reached. Though he was standing
on the peak of a high
mountain, the moon is still far far away.