Ice Cream Dreams and Important Conversations

In this episode of Middle School Miles, the journey takes a more meaningful turn—without losing its humor along the way.

Starting the day in Memphis with chocolate croissants and bagels, the trip quickly shifts into something deeper with a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum. Through exhibits, stories, and powerful moments, Sharlotte reflects on fairness, equality, and what it really means to treat people the way you want to be treated.

The conversation explores big questions in a very real, middle-school way—what matters, why speaking up is important, and how history connects to what’s happening today.

From there, it’s back on the road toward Little Rock, Arkansas (with future stops, ice cream debates, and questionable “great ideas” along the way). As always, school doesn’t just happen on a screen—it happens through experiences, conversations, and the world outside the window.

It’s a mix of humor, curiosity, and growth—proving that sometimes the most important lessons happen far beyond the classroom.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, my name is Charlotte, and this is my uncle.

SPEAKER_01 0:04

I'm Steven.

SPEAKER_00 0:06

This is Middle School Miles.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Which is I have to ask you that every time.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Yeah, you ask me that every time.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

So what is it?

SPEAKER_00 0:13

It's a podcast that I'm doing for school because I had to pick something. And I picked a podcast because I like talking.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Now, why are you for school? What is interesting or different about your school? You should have a podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Because I travel. I don't sit in an extra room eight hours a day.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Are you checking out your teeth in the camera?

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Yes, because it's like I see a gap of my tooth, and I was like, oh, I noticed that. And then I started like whoops.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Distracted much.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

80 HD much.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

What HD is, but I've got 80 of them.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Uh did that Joe.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

I think we both got 80 of them.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

You think so?

SPEAKER_00 0:55

One of us are in medication for it. Facts. Facts on facts.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

So today we woke up in Memphis, Tennessee. And we got a delicious breakfast.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

You got a bagel. I got a chocolate croissant. And it was one of the best chocolate croissants I've had in a very long time. You've had a plain bagel because you're a plain person.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

But with cream cheese because I'm a little zesty.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Actually, it had a lot of cream cheese on it. I mean you're a lot of zesty.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

So then what did we do?

SPEAKER_00 1:37

We went to the Martha Luther King, like the place where he died, and the other exhibit.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

The National Civil Rights Museum.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

And we learned about that, and then we got a sticker. And the sticker says, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. It's a very good sticker.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

So why is that a good quote?

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Because it's talking about the stuff still going on, but people don't talk about it as much as Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

So what's something that matters to you that you should not be silent?

SPEAKER_00 2:14

My opinion. About what? About like choices that people are making.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Civil rights.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah. Comments that people are making about some post about so and so, how they look different, or like how people are making like comments about like peer person being such a great person, but they're not exactly the great person. And people need to, you know, get out of like the small box that they live in and open their eyes to what's actually going on instead of telling themselves that it's better than the other option. When the other option is probably better than the option that they chose.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Okay, so you're very vague. Didn't describe what particular passion what is that? What are you passionate about? Are you passionate about the environment? You're passionate about equal rights? Are you passionate about civil rights? Passionate about people from other countries and this country having all the same opportunities. Are you passionate about making sure everybody has food and water, healthcare? What are the things you're passionate about?

SPEAKER_00 3:20

I mean, I'm passionate about some things, but I don't know if like it's important.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

What what of those things is important?

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Everybody being equal, some people think that because this person looks this way or because this person is this way, they're like different, but everybody's the same person. Even if they look different or they have the different personality, at the end of the day, everybody is a person.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Golden rule. Yeah, that's it. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

And most people like ignore that golden, and they should be more focused on.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

So was there any one exhibit at the museum that really stood out to you as like, oh, I didn't know about that?

SPEAKER_00 4:03

There was this one exhibit talking about those things called rain days, and some people got paid for those days, and some people didn't. On rain days, you didn't have to come to work, you could just stay home. A lot of people got paid for that, and then some other people didn't get paid for that.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

So we're talking about the sanitation workers in Birmingham.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

And or was it Memphis?

SPEAKER_00 4:25

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

It had something to do with sanitation workers and how the black workers are being treated and paid differently than the white workers.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

So after we went to the Museum of Civil Rights. Did we do?

SPEAKER_00 4:48

We drove.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

We drove.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

And drove.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Two hours.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

To where are we now?

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Uh North Little Rock. Go to the Clinton Library.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

And museum.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

And museum. Tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

And maybe get some good food. Maybe Okay, we're definitely gonna get some good food.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Excuse me up. You say that my ideas are always the best ideas, right? That's what you say all the time. What?

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Will you hear my stunned silence?

SPEAKER_00 5:26

What if?

SPEAKER_01 5:27

They're not always great ideas. None of us had all great ideas when we were 14. I'm bad ideas.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

I know. I've heard some of your ideas.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

I'm innocent.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

You are not innocent. You may act innocent, but you are not innocent. It's like me. I act innocent, but I'm not innocent. I'm really good at that. But like, you know what? Here's my good idea. Now, my ideas usually cost you in debt.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

But usually cost me a lot of money.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

But this one isn't gonna cost you a lot of money. Because it's one of your favorite things.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Are we gonna sleep in? I like to sleep.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

No, you don't! Then why do you make me wake up at like butt cracking on? Okay, here's my real thing fantastic idea. What if we eat all the ice cream in the freezer tonight and then we go get ice cream tomorrow? But like we found like a ice cream thing. Yeah no. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:38

It's not giving.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

It's not giving.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

It's definitely mid.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Stops talking like that.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

You're not successful. I've learned all of the it's a bop. But don't be a bop. Because to be a bop is different than having a bop.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

No. You don't even know all of them.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

What's something I don't know?

SPEAKER_00 7:12

I can't tell you.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Oh, now we're a top secret.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

No, because some of them aren't exactly a for me or for you? For everybody. I don't even know how they came to be. Like, there was one time I walked into school and this kid said something. It was like brain rot. And I guess you got in trouble, so I can't tell you anymore. Because we can go around like lop top. Because I thought you do. You say like you were in a meeting and you were like big brain.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

I did say big brain in the meeting reason.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Yeah, that's like your favorite word. You use that for like everything.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

It's a good one. It's giving.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

You're not giving.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

After Little Rock, we're gonna go to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

But we're going to Oklahoma. Can we go to Alabama?

SPEAKER_01 8:05

No, we already missed Alabama.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

We ride past Alabama. Single Alabama.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Okay, yeah. Singing might not be a career choice.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

I I'm a very good singer. And I kept on saying it over and over again, and I was really good at it.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

In your head?

SPEAKER_00 8:27

No, I said it out loud. But you were like walking the dog.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

Okay. So nobody got to hear you.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Yeah, I did.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Okay. Winner winner chicken down.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

For real.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

So what should folks look forward to on our next episode? What's something we should talk about in the next one?

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Not going to Alabama. And probably like the library. The museum.

unknown 8:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Stay sweet.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Is the next part that we're going to Oregon?

SPEAKER_01 9:00

We're eventually going to Oregon.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Wait, when's that?

SPEAKER_01 9:03

By July.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Four month away?

SPEAKER_01 9:08

March.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Like three months. Four months.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

You're counting on your fingers. You still didn't use the right fingers. April, May, June, July.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

April, May, June, July. That's four months.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Why what's in Oregon?

SPEAKER_00 9:25

Ice cream. It's Tullamuk. Okay. If you live by a Publix, you have to try Tullamuk. It will literally change you. It's like the best thing on earth.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

Tillamuk is what?

SPEAKER_00 9:43

It's ice cream. And it's like the best ice cream ever.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

What flavor?

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Cherry. Oregon cherry. Mint chip. Molded chip. Molded molded new chip. Near pollen is pretty good. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

So stay tuned. We're gonna be ready ice cream. This has been Middle School Miles. I'm Ian Steve.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

I'm Charlotte.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Peace out.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

Peace out.