"Dog The Bounty Hunter"

So today is a big day for fans of "Dog The Bounty Hunter." Yes, I am
a big fan! Today is the celebration of their 200th episode on A&E TV.
The network is running an all day marathon of episodes so I'm having a
great day while I work on
Sleeping At Last business in my office. I'm blessed to have a great TV
in my office so I get to see them all (or at least listen).
Let me tell you how my love for this show (and soon the family and
their message) began.
About 5 years ago or so I was laying awake in bed the night before we
were leaving for a tour (I tour as the band's tour manager). For some
reason, we often leave for our tours on Thursday mornings so I am
normally wide awake the night before, running through everything that
I need to remember to bring with or do before we leave. So on these
nights (Wednesdays), I would flip through the channels on TV looking
for something to watch and to settle my stress a bit. I absolutely
LOVE HAWAII and have had the blessing of being able to visit there a
number of times. It's probably my favorite place in the world. So as
I'm flipping through the channels what do I see but a show about
Hawaii That should be pretty calming right? The show was "Dog The
Bounty Hunter."
At first I was watching to see the parts of Hawaii that I love but
very shortly after that, I was watching the people on the show as they
would hunt for convicts (after not appearing at court and jumping
bail) until they found them. They would go down in a hail of yelling
and cussing and loads of action. But the best part was
after they would catch the person. They would talk to these people and
find out about their lives and what happened that made them spiral
into where they were now. These lost people who were struggling
through life. Drug addicts, alcoholics, car thieves, burglars, wife
beaters, drug dealers, animal abusers, hookers, and many violent
offenders. They showed compassion and understanding and would
seriously try to help these people to get back to a good life. Many of
these people (while getting their lives straightened out) would go on
to find jobs with this family so that they could make an honest try at
getting off of the criminal path. AND the most amazing part was that
they would often pray for these convicts either before they would
begin to look for them or after they had caught them and they were
delivered to jail (and many times they would pray with the convict).
What a contradiction that was.
I became fascinated with this contradiction and so I started to watch
the show whenever it was on and I started to look forward to it. I
never told any of the guys about it until maybe a few months later.
While we were driving to the first show on the tour a few months
later....I mentioned that I really liked this show. Well it turned out
that I was not the only one that had watched it.
After watching it regularly, I became convinced that these people were
living the christian life more than most people. It was obvious that
they really cared and tried to help these" throwaway" people. Episode
after episode I learned more about them and saw them in action. More
and more I got to know them and could see how they were as a family
and how many people they welcomed into their family when they had none
of their own. They had gentle and loving hearts under all of the tough
exteriors. Well, of course it's TV so I knew that it could all be
fake. But I was sooooooo hoping not.
I was also inspired by Beth (Dog's wife) as she worked with all guys
(as I do) and yet remained feminine in her very masculine and tough
environment.
About 4 years ago, we (the Sleeping At Last family) all got the
pleasure of going to Hawaii for my birthday.
Of course, all of our group knew how much I loved the show so they
suggested that maybe we should go and check out their office while
we're there and maybe we would meet them. (I had already searched the
location on maps but I didn't let anyone know that of course) I told
them no but they thought it would be fun and after all it was my
birthday. So after days of saying no....I finally agreed and we went
to their offices and took pictures outside. That was great because as
I've mentioned in other posts, I don't like to have attention on me so
there was no way that I wanted to meet these people and look stupid.
Just being there was enough for me. I also secretly was worried that
they would not be the real thing and I didn't want to be disappointed.
Each year that we were there, we would head over to the office hoping
to see them but we never did. They opened a store around the corner
from the office and we went there a couple of years ago.
During that time, Dog (Duane Chapman) wrote a book about his life and
it made me respect and admire him more. He became an inspiration to
me. He had a very difficult father and he was able to make it past all
of that which gave me so much hope for myself. So obviously, I didn't
want him to turn out to be a fake.
Well, as you may know, last March (2010) Ryan (for those of you that
don't know, Ryan is my son) and Cayt got married in Hawaii. We had
gone over to get their marriage license and I thought...why don't we
just drive by and see if the store is open since we're pretty close.
When we arrived we found out that Dog and the family were on their way
to the office and were doing some filming with a crew from a french TV
station. We were told that they might be coming to the store as a part
of the filming schedule so we should wait and maybe we could meet them.
I said it was ok to get going and we didn't need to wait but Ryan and
Cayt insisted that we stay. They knew how much it would mean to me and
they were right!!! We waited about an hour and during that time, they
bought me a pink hat just in case we could get something signed.
We also found out that Dog's new book was being released and they were
starting a book tour in Honolulu while we were there so, if they
didn't show up at the store that day, I could go and meet them at the
signing in a week.
Well, they showed up at the office and heard that there were some
people (more than just the 4 of us) waiting for them at the store so
they stopped filming just to come out and meet all of us. Well, that
was sweet I thought. That's a good sign. Remember...I was still
worried that I would be disappointed. So we waited about 5 minutes and
they (Dog, Duane Lee and Leland) showed up to meet us. They were the
sweetest, most humble people and they were even better than I had
hoped. They took the time to talk to us (without being distracted) and
not the typical stuff. Dog really seemed to be interested in each
person there and took as much time as anyone needed while the film
crew waited. Cayt and Ryan even got interviewed for the french TV
station. Come to think of it....we should try and find that online. We
forgot because we had a wedding to get ready for. : )
So... I am happy to report that yes, I do believe that they are the
real thing.
A few days later, word got out at the wedding that we had met Dog and
it turns out that there were more wedding guests that watch the show
than we knew. My nieces were particularly interested in hearing about
Leland and Duane Lee however. Turns out that they are the new hot
guys. So they were really interested in seeing the pictures we had.
About a week later, we were heading around the island with Dan and
Therese and Jeremy and Elsie and they graciously waited for me to go
to the book signing. I got to once again meet Dog and the family and
this time Beth was there. The line was enormous and would probably
have been hours of waiting but the sweet woman that worked in the
"Dog" store saw us and she pulled me out of the line and moved me to
the front. I got my new book signed (and yes, they were sweet all over
again) and off we went to head around the most beautiful place in the
world.
The signed pink hat and the signed books are on my shelf first... as a
reminder that Ryan and Cayt loved me enough to give up part of their
afternoon a few days before their wedding to let me meet these people
that have inspired me to keep going on days that I was wondering if I
could. Second.... as a reminder that even when you have been hurt and
damaged by your family....you can get through it and thrive! In fact,
maybe that's why they are making a difference. Because they've been
there and they do care!
So today on this anniversary of the shows 200th episode.....I just
wanted to wish them CONGRATULATIONS on the show and on the real
success which is their lives!
I have always imagined that when we die, and we are facing
judgement....maybe we will see all of the people that we made a
difference for in our lives. For some, that will be good and for some
it will be bad. Can you imagine the sea of faces that will be there
for these people? How many thousands of people (criminals and fans)
whose lives they impacted with love and hope.
If you want to see some of what I'm talking about....check out the
show tonight on A&E (#45 in Chicago). I think there's a "best of" hour
and then the 200th episode. It also repeats about an hour or two later.
Or read the books (they're a little rough but loaded with lessons and
hope and well worth the read).
You Can Run But You Can't Hide
Where Mercy Is Shown, Mercy Is Given
Both are by Duane "Dog" Chapman

And from me personally to Dog and Beth......Thank you for giving me
hope and renewing my faith. Thank you too for giving me faith in
people when I had lost it and inspiring me to keep going. I'm so very
happy that I came across this show so many years ago. You are truly a
blessing. : )
So....tonight you'll find me in front of my TV watching this 200th
Episode and thanking God that He brought these people and their
message into my life!
Love,
Kim