THE MAN

I had recently graduated from UGA School of Pharmacy and now as a newly licensed pharmacist in the state of Georgia, I went to work for the K Mart Corporation. K Mart had made the decision to put pharmacies in all of their stores and I was assigned to the store in Rome, Georgia. The year was 1975! Back in those days, drug reps called on pharmacies and one of the first reps I met was a man named Bruce Sloman. He came in and introduced himself and started talking about the Georgia Bulldogs! We became instant friends and he stopped by on a regular basis to check on his business as a pharmaceutical rep for Bristol Labs. Little did I realize that those initial conversations would be the basis for a deep and lasting friendship - a friendship I shall cherish for the rest of my days. He was THE MAN!

I worked in Rome for a few years and then, like most young men, I just had to move to Atlanta - to be where the action was - bright lights, big city! What an idiot I was!

I continued in my working life as a pharmacist for about 5 or 6 more years and then by some stroke of fate, I became a pharmaceutical representative! I remembered my friend Bruce Sloman and how much he loved his job. Knowing him was one reason I was excited about this change of careers. As luck would have it, I found myself assigned to call on the physicians in Rome, Georgia (among other towns). When I arrived in Rome with my detail bag, one of the first reps I ran into was none other than my ole' buddy - THE MAN! It took us about 5 seconds to get re-acquainted and then he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. He did everything he could to get me into the offices of hard-to-see physicians and taught me what I needed to know to be successful (which was far different from the corporate propaganda)! My life-long best friend, brother from another mother, Dr. Jim Whatley, had moved to town and set up practice during the time since I had left. Bruce and Jim had also become friends and Jim had often told me of conversations he had with Bruce where Bruce would ask about me. This life was totally new to me and I often felt like I had won the lottery. I was no longer confined to the small space of a pharmacy answering the phone and listening to people complain. I had a new career and I was learning from the best.

Our friendship continued to grow and one day I found myself having to compete with Bruce in the oral antibiotic market. I sold Ceftin and he sold Duricef - a lot of Duricef! What was I to do? Well, the answer came to me one day in a conversation I had with Bruce. He told me that he was in a position where he could retire from his company but he was certainly not ready to really RETIRE. Not this man! My company had some exciting prospects for future products! We did not make "me too" drugs - we brought innovative, life-changing products to the marketplace! I had died and gone to heaven and I told Bruce this! I was "selling" THE MAN. This prospect of what we offered excited THE MAN. I made a few phone calls and with very little effort (because of THE MAN'S reputation) on my part, Bruce Sloman was soon retired from Bristol and newly employed by my company, Glaxo Wellcome! My plan had worked. I no longer had to compete with THE MAN because we were now partners. Duricef sales dropped like "lead bloomers" and Ceftin sales skyrocketed. ( I must insert my condolences here to the multitude of marketing "gurus" who are so confident in their abilities to move markets - your "Madison Avenue sh**" had nothing to do with this)! No, this was sales at its finest! The best way to beat great competition is to get them to come to work for your company. I was born at night but it wasn't last night.

Bruce often spoke about his family because he was extremely proud of them. His wife, Judy, was not one to be in the spotlight - she was the quiet rock of his life. When I called Bruce's home, Judy would always answer and I enjoyed my conversations with her. She would most certainly tell me that Bruce was either working in the garden or jogging. Bruce loved the Atlanta Braves and on numerous occasions he would invite me to go with him to the Braves Stadium where we would meet his two sons, Todd and Jay. I don't think he ever missed a UGA home game! Every year Bruce would look over the top high school football prospects and where they might attend college. He knew their speed in the 40 yard dash, their weights and all of the essential stats on each player. I often saw him with a hand-made list of these players that he would take into his physicians' offices and discuss these prospects and the upcoming season with the docs. They loved him.

He was THE MAN because of the way he dressed. I never saw him when he wasn't impeccably attired and groomed. He was a true professional and people noticed.

He was THE MAN because of his habits. He would set his alarm clock for 4:30 AM so he could wake up and phone in an order of doughnuts for his "standing" breakfast appointments at certain offices. He did this EVERY week. He was THE MAN even to the bakery employees. The doctors in these offices looked forward to the fresh bakery goods and great conversation with Bruce. He had usually seen more doctors by 9AM than most reps saw all week.

He was THE MAN because of his work ethic. He often spoke of his childhood and how hard he had to work just to get by. He told us that chopping cotton was the hardest job he ever had. No matter how tough things got, he promised us that "it was better than chopping cotton"! He even worked in college and made the football team.

He was THE MAN because of his integrity. He never over-promised and under-delivered. Just the opposite - he under-promised and over-delivered. His Christian convictions were the foundation of that integrity. And people noticed!

He was THE MAN because of his commitment to his friends. One was very fortunate to have Bruce Sloman as a friend.

Bruce began having some lower back pain and went in for a checkup. It was determined that he had a malignant kidney tumor and surgery was planned. He was THE MAN during this ordeal and handled it like he did everything else. He would have regular check-ups and things were going great until one fateful day. A chest x-ray that was clear just a few weeks before now looked "like I had been shot in the chest with a shotgun"! The cancer had returned and had spread. THE MAN began to fight! Those of us who wallow in mediocrity would have gone home to our little "pity parties", but not THE MAN. He continued to work as if nothing had happened. He told me that he didn't want to just sit at home - he would much rather be working and doing what he enjoyed so much. Long before he told me that if a man loves what he does for a living, he would never go to "work" a day in his life. I guess those were not just meaningless words to him!


The chemotherapy took a toll on THE MAN but few people realized it. He lost a little weight and the hair that was not "gray" fell out but he kept on living his life. I could not believe how riled up he could get about something at work while he faced the end of his life.

In the first part of June 2004, Bruce and I were scheduled to work the Georgia Academy of Family Practice Physicians mid-summer convention at Amelia Island Plantation on the coast of Florida. This is not a high pressure affair and is a great time to spend some time with physicians in a more relaxed environment. Bruce would tell me that his "indigestion" had gotten much worse and that he had doubled his medicine. A side effect of chemotherapy is neuropathy ( nerve pain) and Bruce would tell me that his arms and hands were burning like they were on fire. Just before this convention, the oncologist had changed his treatment and had explained that the side effects might be worse. His wife was with him and my wife was with me, so we went out to eat every night. I was amazed at his appetite! We had a chance to sit down in a quiet little coffee shop and he expressed to me how he had not gone places and had done without things and saved his money. For what, he asked? I got the point he was making!

We planned to head back to Atlanta on Sunday morning and I waited till about 9AM to call him because I was hoping he was resting. When I dialed his cell phone, he answered and told me he was almost back in Atlanta (a six hour trip)! Because the pain in his arms and hands had gotten so bad (his only relief was to soak them in large trays of ice-water), he decided to leave early.

I never saw THE MAN again! Within a few days, he had taken a turn for the worse and was admitted to the ICU of the hospital. Friends gathered to comfort his wife and sons.

At the funeral home visitation, seemingly every doctor in town was in attendance. They would announce who they were to Judy and then she would relate a story back to them that Bruce had told her. It dawned on me as I overheard these conversations, that Bruce had told Judy about every little detail of his work experiences. She knew all of the names and much about each one. A physician would start an introductory story about himself and Judy would finish it. She knew everybody - though she'd never met them!

The next morning at the cemetery, we waited for the hearse and the family. THE MAN'S time on this earth was over. We had our umbrellas to deflect the rain that was certainly to burst forth from the dark clouds. Not one drop fell till we drove away!

There will never be another like him in our business. He was the last of a now extinct breed!

Years before I had heard several physicians talking about their favorite drug reps. Of course, Bruce Sloman's name was the most prominent. One doc said, "Bruce always made me feel like he really enjoyed being around me and spending time with me. I could never determine if he really did or if he just wanted me to write prescriptions for his products".


I told you, he was THE MAN!