We all know Texans are rugged. Especially the West Texas variety. It takes hard men to deal with Mother Nature’s antics in this harsh Southwestern climate.

But really, guys, how tough are you? I know you are brawny enough to wrestle a calf to the ground at branding time; hardened enough to brave the blazing sun all day and have enough left to go two-steppin’ at night; mighty enough to hump seed bags all afternoon during planting season.

Are you tough enough to drive a pink tractor?

Now that’s tough.

Many cowboys are “Tough Enough to Wear Pink.” Evidence the campaigns to fight cancer which have been huge successes at rodeos across Texas and the nation. The good folks at Cisco Equipment in San Angelo and four other West Texas locations have taken that idea a step further.

Take one fully-loaded New Holland Boomer 3040 tractor and loader. Wrap it in camouflage decals. Paint it pink. Bright pink. Encourage donations with net proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.

Are you man enough to drive it?

Women love it. Children crave it. Men, well, are men… “What would I do with a pink tractor?”

“You can tell whoever asks, ‘I got it for $5,’ “ laughs Marty Behrens with Cisco Equipment.

One lucky person will be the talk of the Concho Valley and beyond in November, when a drawing for the tractor will be held. Some 2,000 charitable donations of $5 each were collected at the recent San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo. More has been/will be collected as this tractor with an attitude has appeared, or will appear, at other events including the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, the Dance for the Cure for Cancer, local and regional Relays for Life, Breast Cancer Awareness night with local semipro sports teams, and “whatever we can come up with in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” Behrens said.

“Are you tough enough to drive pink?”

Pugnacious Pink (that has a manly sound to it)… A camouflaged, Pugnacious Pink tractor… One of a kind… A real attention getter…Your wife will love you… Your daughters will clamor to work… And donations go to a worthy cause…

Marty says the crew at Cisco Equipment has put a lot of timemuch of it personal-into promoting the “Tough Enough to Drive Pink” fundraising campaign. He said it has been a real eye-opener.

“I did not know to what extent cancer has affected people in my community. I had no idea of the exposure,” he said. “Until a friend died a couple of years ago, I had no close encounters with cancer. Working on this project, I’ve found out that every third or fourth person has lost someone to cancer; or someone has survived the disease. I had no idea how many lives it affected in our community.”

I plan on donating. It’s a great cause. Personally, I’d like to be known as the “guy with the pink tractor.”