This is Kadir from Malatya, Turkey. He is mentally ill and the locals call him Mercedes Kadir because he thinks his stick with a Mercedes logo up front is a Mercedes and he walks it around town all day.
The coolest part about Mercedes Kadir's story is that the whole town has embraced his imaginary Mercedes. Kadir stops at traffic lights along with others, abides by all the traffic laws, parks his stick-car in appropriate spots, lets other drivers pass him, etc. Everyone in town is aware of Kadir's Mercedes and they play along.
Among many car-related errands, Kadir takes his stick-car to the local Mercedes Benz dealership for regular maintenance. Mechanics fix his radio, replace his rear-view mirror, polish his MB logo.
Cops write him dummy tickets for traffic violations and send him to inspection annually. Malatya, the town, lives Kadir's illusion with him.
And here's the funniest part: One day Kadir takes his stick to the dealership and explains his problems. Service manager tells him that the car will be ready in 2 days. 2 days pass by and Kadir goes back to find out it's not ready. He waits another 2 days and it's still not ready. Next day he goes back to the dealership and when the manager tells him it's not ready, he gets pissed off and says: "Enough already, give me my car back, I have been walking home for days :)"
Just wanted to share this funny story as we now live in a world where people don't tolerate those who are even slightly different than us. There is hope :)
