Meet The Marlboro Man

     This piece is dedicated to anyone that has read or seen posts on my Facebook or Twitter page in the last couple of years. You may have seen some banter or direct quotes from a man whom I call the Marlboro Man. He's a Cowboy who has always been dear to my heart. 

   I hate that he smokes too much, drinks whiskey and cusses... A LOT ( I leave the cussing out of his quotes.) He's a tough old man who's seen years of hardship, fun, and love. If you ask him how life's been so far, he'll tell you point blank,  
  "Full. But it ain't done with me yet.". I hope that's true, because I've never met anyone quite as unique as the Marlboro Man.
    I call him the 'Marlboro Man,' for a couple of reasons. One being that he's a smoker, an avid smoker, with a matching cough and yellowing finger tips. And though he looks rough, it's easy to see that in his younger days he was quite handsome and fit.
    Even in his ageing vessel, the brilliant light in his blue eyes is always visible, always captivating and his stories are even more so. He's told me many times before, 
 "I ain't a young buck no more, Baby Girl. But I seen a lot of life. Looked it square in the eye, and sometimes it looked back and dared me." Then he smiles a little and coughs. And I know that he accepted those dares. 
    He's silent, pointing his discolored finger at me, with a lit cigarette placed firmly between his first two fingers. Making sure that I understand what he means. He pulls his arm back slowly and nods, because he sees that I do understand. The smoke follows his hand, then dissipates.
      I love how in his eyes, he can still see me as a 'child' in certain ways. He views the world with an old school perspective; one where men are still gentlemen, who open doors, pull out chairs, say 'please' and 'thank you' and give a firm hand shake while looking you in the eye. Men that would never think of calling any woman a 'bitch' or a 'ho' (even if it were true), and their word is better than any legal written contract.
    He's spent nearly his entire life on a ranch or in the arenas, riding bulls and training bull riders. He's that kind of cowboy. The kind that is up with the sun, works hard all day, goes to bed when the sun goes down, then wakes up to do it all over again.
     Most of his stories begin with the words,
 "When I was.." and end leaving you wishing that they didn't. 
      
    My friend says, "They don't make men like the Marlboro Man anymore." I know that he's right, but did they ever MAKE men like that or is that some sort of sorry excuse for the way we've mishandled the responsibility of raising our own children? And why can't we still MAKE men like the Marlboro Man, less the smoking and the hacking cough?
   The Marlboro Man has an amazing ability to see when something's wrong or right for that matter and has a near perfect analogy for nearly any situation.    
   He's much like the Cowboy version of Kahlil Gibran (a favorite of mine too); just as deep and thought provoking but less wordy as most cowboys are (less wordy I mean). 
   He's always told me, "Black and white are just colors...the world is full of color and shades of gray..know where you stand in it...and don't lose your footing."

  He also says...." I seen a lot of things in my time, Cupcake. Some things that would turn a man's heart sour, or make him stop believing that there's a power higher than himself. It's just not true. If you can see the world through the eyes of someone else, you got it half licked....if you can empathize with someone else in pain... love when your heart's still broken...and taste life the way it's handed to you... you got it mostly licked, I suspect." He draws heavily on the cigarette as it nears the filter and brushes at the dust  on his worn leather boot with his weathered hand.
        
     Mid summer the Marlboro Man disappears from the arenas with his nephews to northern California, to relax and strategically plan for the upcoming bull riding season.
    I have treasured every minute that I have spent with him and I hope that I have many more opportunities to learn from him. 

These are some of my favorite 'Marlboro Man' quotes.  Some are serious and some are silly, but they all own his character :)
     

"Understanding comes from getting knocked down...Courage comes from getting back up."

"Strength shows in your attitude...Stress shows on your face."

"If you wanna see the world through my perspective...shut up and let me tell it my way."

"Knowing where you stand...don't make ya tired when there's standing room only."

"PAIN (of any kind), reminds us why we don't like it."

"The company you keep says a lot about you...at some point you should always let them go home."

"Knowing when to walk away, is something we all hope we can recognize...Actually doing it, is something else altogether." 

"Into each life a little rain must fall..you gotta decide which drops to dodge and which ones to let fall on ya."

"Don't stop believin'......hold  onto that feelin." Yeah he quoted Journey, lol

"Every Cowboy needs a hat, a good pair of boots, his first rodeo & a cowgirl of his own."

"The right cowboy won't stay away...hang your hat there."

Copyright 2013 -2017 - Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved

The Marlboro Man - Opinions

The Marlboro Man - Sabatoge Part 1

The Marlboro Man - Sabatoage Part 2

Life's Hard Love Harder Part 1- The Marlboro Man

Life's Hard Love Harder Part 2 - The Marlboro Man

Life's Hard Love Harder Part 3- The Marlboro Man

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Authors Note: This 'poem' and email was originally meant for the Field Techs at my former employer. What really happened was that in my haste to make sure I had a copy of this before my departure, I accidentally sent it to the very people I wasn't going to in the company. And of course at that point, it was still quite a 'rough draft.' So now all the upper management has seen this too. I hope they're smiling. If not, oh well, I don't work there anymore. :)
As with all of my blog writing, the links are always in yellow.


  Email:  I have been in the communications industry (it's still my job as a writer :) for many years. I have met and survived many field technicians  and dispatchers (many of us have). 
   Bringing communications to the masses is sometimes a thankless job. But without the 'cable dawgs' to install and the dispatchers who guide..how would anyone get TV?? (FYI – it works the same in satellite – I been there too).
   The short answer is..They wouldn't. And the Cable peeps who make it all happen, rock everyday!!
    I will miss you all, as I begin a new adventure in my life. Thanks for putting up with me when I get the 'sillies' or feel the need to turn an ordinary work day into an adventure of TRIO Trolls and Cable Goblins. It has been a great adventure at (company name excluded).

   Since 2001, I have walked both sides of the fence, as both a field tech and a dispatcher. 
   Don't be offended by the genders that I have chosen to use. Historically speaking, the majority of field technicians have been male and the majority of dispatchers have been female.

               The Dawg and the Dispatcher

The young man is looking.. a job he has found

Sometimes on ladders, sometimes the ground

A cable dawg’s day starts at the crack of dawn.

The work is hard and the days are long.

It first takes his knees and then gets his back..

No time to eat healthy, grabbing fast food..he's   
awaiting  an inevitable heart attack.

He brings you the interwebs for the pleasure of surfing...

Installs your TVs, for Saturday morning
SMURFING.

And don’t forget the telephone, it's gone Voip for talking...

And when it intermittently goes down, customers tell him 'Fix it! “or I’m walking.”

He listens to customers, both praising and complaining...

He works in the cold, in the heat, and even when it’s raining.

He’s done it for years, it’s his trade and he loves it.

But each year for Christmas, he vows to tell them to ‘shove it.’

She is his support, she handles the systems, the software, the upgrades...
and when he's angry she listens..

She moves around work, when his truck doesn't start..calls customers to explain, always doing her part..

She smooths it over when someones upset...
She's got the skills to juggle between customers, managers and techs..

Much like a Guardian, she spends many hours here...watching and waiting until the field is all clear...

The team is still growing and he has been wishing....a spot soon would open.. perhaps a management position..

The field pay was great…but those days have past..
He’s out of the field… a desk job at last.

They are a team, they will be today...same as yesterday and tomorrow..it works better that way.

The Dawg and the Dispatcher... they will be there, to get the job done, to trouble shoot and repair.

So you can phone your mum, watch TV, surf the net...all bundled together... as good as it gets.

I had the time of my life working with with all of you over the years. Thanks for that :)

Copyright 2013 - Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved

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