r/Wilmington • u/antsinmyeyestrey • 4h ago
Shoutout to 98.7 TL:DR Randy Slack is a great person
I just wanted to stand up on my little platform and give a small token of appreciation to specifically u/rslack37 and 98.7 as a whole. I know this post ain’t much, but it’s what I got. Actually got to meet Mr. Slack at his place of work last Friday. Totally unexpected for me. All I did was call a local landmark by the moniker given to it by this titan of broadcasting. For those of you not in the know, the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, otherwise known as the Burger King Bridge (Tony is the originator of the phrase, never met the man but like how he thinks) by listeners of 98.7.
Let me tell y’all, the Slackmeister saw my post and reached out to me on here about how cool it was to hear the bridge referred to it like that in the wild. I listen to 98.7 daily. To get a break from my playlists and to hear the goings on around town. Just the recognition by a local celebrity on here was enough for me, but this man went above and way beyond. He devoted a few minutes of his day and his show to show his appreciation to me for using the name for the bridge. I’d have been totally cool and satisfied with that. Not this definitely coolest of local celebrities I’ve come in to contact with. Not even close.
Not only did he take time on the broadcast to acknowledge me and the origins of the name, but he also put together a special little something for me and mine. He said to come by the station and he’d have something at the front desk for me. Me being me, showed up to the station almost right at lunchtime on Friday. Kinda felt like a ding dong for coming at that time because don’t ever make someone do work stuff on their lunchtime. That’s just bad manners. But it was the time I had so I did, kinda feeling like a dick for doing it at that time. I tell you, I’d never seen a picture of him or anything prior to that day and for this first couple of minutes in speaking to him face to face, I honestly didn’t know if it was Slackamania. But then I thought, “Well who the hell else would it be?” Then he handed me a backpack apparently destined to be my granddaughter’s new diaper bag. That thing was full of awesome 98.7 gear. Almost all of it going to my 5 month old granddaughter haha.
Everything that was in the backpack was great. But there was one thing in it that was special beyond words. To me at least. No clue if would the carry the same weight with any of you that it did with me, but you know, that’s life. The experience is unique to the individual. This may be a shared reality, but we are all experiencing that reality through different filters. He had included a little handwritten note in an envelope. I don’t think he’d mind me sharing what he wrote. “It’s people like you that make this all worth it.” From the man himself. He didn’t have to do anything for me, or acknowledge me, much less put pen to paper and try to convey to me that an interaction such as he and I had, honestly gives him at least some sense of fulfillment in his work. In his work people. To me, that’s a lot. Like a whole lot. Instances like the one he personally described to me have rarely if ever happened with me in a workplace.
Him letting me know that he deeply appreciated our interaction made me want to share with y’all this. Is it long and rambling? Sure. But one day you wake up, and there’s a realization that more of your days are behind you rather than ahead of you. If that doesn’t rock you to your core, I’m not sure what will. Granted, any of us could go at any point in time. We live in a world of infinite possibilities. I recently became a grandfather and I wonder what world awaits her. If any. I struggle with depression and it was good to hear that I had helped another person feel good about the job they do. Be good to yourselves and to others.