my parents and dog the bounty hunter

Me, as baby bounty hunter

It’s a funny thing as you get older, as one lives their adult life separately from their parents, I realize I don’t really know what my parents are into. Sure I know their humor and the things they spend money on and the big things that necessitate a phone call like a neighbor going nuts or a family member I’ve never met dying or a disgruntled employee walking into your Dad’s office with a shotgun (last one is true). But are they listening to new music, watching Netflix shows, taking up new hobbies? I hardly hear of it. For some reason something I will never forget is a new-in-box pair of Oakley sunglasses, that have lived on the closet shelf at the guest room at my Dad’s house in Phoenix since 2005. My mom bought them as a gift for my Dad when they were married. I’m also an only child, if that matters.

The Oakley Thumps were cool-looking Oakleys that had built-in ear buds and a flash memory card to load up your favorite music. They looked like they came out of Batman’s R&D, so it’s unsurprising that their first association was with Dog the Bounty Hunter, who often wore them on his appearances and TV shows. My Dad has always been an early-adopter of technology and probably around this same time could be found walking around the house or driving with a Bluetooth earpiece in his ear, ready to answer the next business call that rang his cell phone (today he does the same but with 1 airpod). But these Oakleys were just too much, and while it’s clear my Mom thought they looked badass, my Dad couldn’t do it and so they just lived in the box on the shelf, never worn. There’s a whole other chapter to wearable tech and design and delivering the consumer something futuristic albeit misguided that I’d love to explore further but this isn’t about that.

I’ve always felt impermeable to advertising, looked at Ads and thought how funny they were and how silly people were for seeing an Ad and then buying the product so I truly feel like a moron when advertising works on me. But there’s also a relief in letting go, resisting no more and letting the ad do its work and buying the thing and feeling really happy with your decision. I got an email from Cameo saying ‘its not too late to send a Cameo for Mother’s Day!’ and I knew that was the perfect decision. I scrolled for a while, trying to find a celebrity voice that would speak to my Mom, and realized I’m not sure who she connects with and would be excited to hear from. I thought about picking Hank from Breaking Bad, but I wasn’t sure she had seen the show. I saw Dog the Bounty Hunter and it just felt right. I knew her and my Dad knew Dog, had bonded over Dog, and she had bought the tragic Oakley’s because of Dog. I also did this in full knowledge that the only other time I had used Cameo was to send my Dad a happy birthday message in 2020, delivered by Dog the Bounty Hunter.

It’s hard to articulate in writing but my parents both really loved hearing from Dog. This isn’t me picking a weird celebrity to troll my parents, this was an honest assessment of their personalities, and the ethos Dog embodies. My Mom called me today and told me the Cameo message was exactly what she needed to hear, and that she had heard Dog on a radio show just a few days before and it brought her to tears. He’s an American West vigilante, sort of. He’s an aging rocker-type who always wears sunglasses and handles stuff his way. And beneath all of that he seems to be a kind and thoughtful guy who promotes positivity and the good kind of Christian values.