The parents of Dylan Hackbarth — a May graduate of the University of Minnesota who has been accepted to graduate school at Johns Hopkins University — are understandably proud of him.But what really surprised Dylan was his mother’s reaction when he landed his one-year job before he heads off to grad school.“I got this job the same week I found out I was accepted at Johns Hopkins. My mom actually cried,” said the 22-year-old. Yes, they were tears of joy. That’s because Dylan beat out some fierce competition to be a “hot dogger,” as it’s called, for the Madison, Wis.-based Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. I was fortunate to be able to ride earlier this week in the Wienermobile with Dylan and his driving/touring partner, 21-year-old Kylie Hodges.Kylie, a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin, and Dylan were among 12 hot doggers out of 12,000 applicants selected for the highly coveted, see-the-nation-in-the-Wienermobile, goodwill ambassadorships. That translates into two hot doggers in each of six Wienermobiles.The competition to see who could best “cut the mustard” as hot dog ambassadors was indeed stiff: Two weeks at Hot Dog High in Madison.Learning to drive the expansive, iconic Wienermobile — 27 feet (60 hot dogs) long, 11 feet (24 hot dogs) high and 8 feet (18 hot dogs) wide — was certainly intense. “We had 40 hours of driver’s training,” Dylan noted. “They taped up all the windows and used obstacle courses.”I hitched a ride earlier this week with Kylie and Dylan, who were here for the Pro Football Hall of Fame parade and other events. Squired around with me was Betty Cline, one of Akron’s very best goodwill ambassadors.Wisconsin native Kylie, who’s been on the road with Dylan for the last seven weeks, “grew up seeing the Wienermobile. “I sang the famous [Oscar Mayer] jingle in 1996,” she continued. “My mom kept that in mind and encouraged me to apply for the Wienermobile job. Normally they recruit on college campuses. But I went to them.”Dressed in ketchup-colored Oscar Mayer T-shirts, Kylie and Dylan are members of the Wienermobile’s 24th class. Particularly exciting for them is that this is the 75th anniversary of the Wienermobile, a fiberglass hot dog resting on a converted Chevrolet chassis with a V-8, 6.0 liter 300 Vortec 5700 engine. It’s equipped with a removable “bunroof” and six mustard- and ketchup-colored seats. According to Oscar Mayer lore, the whole thing, which weighs seven tons (14,000 hot dogs), has a top speed of “somewhere between ketchup pouring from a bottle and a speeding bullet.”Kylie and Dylan and other hot doggers — newbies like them and alumni — have good reason for believing this is one of the best jobs in the world. They don’t call it “miles of smiles” for nothing, the pair agree.“It’s always like you’re in a parade and you just keep waving and always ready to hit the jingle horn,” said Dylan, whose Oscar Mayer Wienermobile name is Dyl-icious and Kylie’s is Ketchup Kylie.People’s reactions, as Betty and I observed, are surreal: car horns honking and lots of waving. Seeing the brightly colored vehicle brings out the inner child in adults. Muscular men on construction crews and in landscape trucks were as animated as children as they vied for the attention of the drivers. A few even knocked on the window, seeking those famous Oscar Mayer hot-dog whistles.The rapid way they peeled off the plastic led me to believe they weren’t getting them for the children in their lives.On the other hand, children’s reactions were surprisingly more refined. Oh, they smiled and jumped up and down, just not as far off the ground as Mom or Dad.“It brings out the good in people,” Kylie said, adding, “It just turns that switch on.“When we stopped in at the Best Buy store in Cuyahoga Falls, a woman said ‘This is the best thing that’s happened to me all week!’ ”Dylan and Kylie said their counterparts who took a Wienermobile to Joplin, Mo., a few days after the tornado reported the same reaction from the people there in spite of trying so desperately to put back the pieces of their lives.The pair, charged with covering this country’s eastern region, said apart from their goodwill mission, this is a rare opportunity for them to see the country for free. “It’s funny to think about how many cell phones we might be on,” Dylan suggested. “We love waving. But we always want to make sure the other drivers are safe.”The climate inside the Wienermobile is always great, as brilliant blue clouds adorn the ceiling.Yet another funny reaction the drivers often get are inquiries from hungry folks thinking they have hot dogs on board. They don’t. No one is claiming that hot dogs are health food, just that they’re a popular sandwich choice. The Today show reported this week that the average American eats 70 hot dogs a year.Of course, at Swenson’s we ordered hot dogs. Didn’t ask the brand, figuring ignorance was bliss.Oscar Mayer is offering an opportunity to win $100,000 in an online contest this month that’s dubbed its Good Mood Mission. The company wants to know what good you’re spreading in your community.The winner will get $100,000 donated to his or her favorite nonprofit, relishing its chance to expand its reach or appetite in the community to do even more good works. See http://www.kraftbrands.com/oscarmayer. As we all know, good deeds and reasons to laugh are oftentimes in doggone short supply.Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or emailed at jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com